Department for Transport

Railways: South East

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will (a) make it his policy to abolish the historic Network South East rail boundaries and (b) introduce a new structure for ticketing to and from London for areas currently outside of this area.

Joseph Johnson: The network railcard is a concessionary railcard arising from an agreement between the relevant train operators. National Railcards are governed by the industry’s railcard scheme council and any changes to existing railcards, or new railcards, would therefore be for the industry to propose not Government. We have made clear our commitment to review rail ticketing, removing complexity and perverse pricing.

Abellio Greater Anglia: Compensation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the Delay Repay compensation scheme to be extended to commuters affected by delays of 15 minutes on Abellio Greater Anglia services; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: Delay Repay for delays of 15 minutes or more (DR15) will be contracted as a requirement for new DfT franchises when contracts come up for renewal. The Department has received a proposal from Greater Anglia in relation to implementing Delay Repay 15 before their present contract expires. This proposal is in the early stages of being reviewed and analysed to determine whether it is affordable and represents value for money. Any announcement regarding introducing DR15 into Greater Anglia will be made once this evaluation is completed.

Network Rail: Fixed Penalties

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much in financial penalties and claw backs has been incurred by Network Rail for performance-related matters and paid to each train operator in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson: The financial penalties and clawbacks incurred by Network Rail for performance-related matters are set by the rail regulator through track access contracts. These are referred to as ‘Schedule 4’ and ‘Schedule 8’, the relevant sections of the Track Access Agreement. The table below sets out how much has been paid to each operator over the past four years. Data is only readily available in this format for the past four years. All figures are in millions of pounds.2017201620152014 Schedule 4Schedule 8Schedule 4Schedule 8Schedule 4Schedule 8Schedule 4Schedule 8Abellio East Anglia/Greater Anglia1.713.09.64.811.78.911.31.8Serco Sleeper0.3(0.5)0.50.10.00.00.00.0Scotrail26.7(0.1)2.52.14.62.83.81.8Heathrow Express0.10.90.00.80.10.50.00.6Virgin West Coast31.2(4.4)42.05.627.29.27.528.9Chiltern1.71.44.8(0.0)7.40.30.10.2Merseyrail10.20.30.50.30.30.33.7(0.2)Southern (became part of Govia in 2016)(0.0)(0.0)4.21.832.627.625.122.8Arriva Trains Wales2.01.32.31.13.81.03.01.9South West Trains14.432.717.114.516.213.711.913.5London Underground1.10.60.50.10.40.10.10.5Trans Pennine3.90.86.43.84.31.83.01.9C2C2.20.82.9(0.5)2.60.12.80.4Hull Trains0.01.1(0.0)0.60.6(0.2)0.01.5Northern19.62.819.53.68.41.59.50.9Great Western21.924.226.64.624.619.229.637.1Govia/First Capital Connect28.942.229.427.411.78.17.014.8South Eastern17.828.530.120.112.99.44.512.4Grand Central0.00.8(0.2)0.70.20.00.00.3Arriva Rail London/London Overground16.61.15.30.76.21.43.11.3East Midlands9.614.48.89.59.511.010.711.3London Midland5.1(4.1)5.00.88.60.13.35.3Cross Country13.33.99.72.812.81.610.311.2Virgin East Coast/East Coast25.115.519.55.328.6(15.0)31.619.4MTR Crossrail4.80.41.6(0.5)0.00.00.00.0Total258.0177.9248.8110.1235.3103.3182.0189.6

Public Transport: Finance

Laura Pidcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the equity of the level of funding for public transport throughout the UK.

Joseph Johnson: The Department has not made an assessment of the equity of the level of funding for public transport throughout the UK. The Department does not allocate funding to transport on a ‘per head of population’ basis. Decisions are made based on a rigorous and fair appraisal process that ensures spending goes to the projects and programmes where it is most needed and delivers greatest value-for-money for both taxpayers and passengers. Data from the HM Treasury Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) provides figures for total public expenditure on transport and how this varies across regions. The latest publication is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2017.

Public Transport: North East

Laura Pidcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of whether there is a need to increase funding for public transport in the North East.

Joseph Johnson: The Government is providing significant levels of funding to support public transport across the North East. For example, we have committed to provide £337 million towards the cost of replacing the entire rolling stock fleet on the Tyne and Wear Metro. My Department has also provided both revenue and capital funding to the Metro since its inception in 1980, and currently provides £55 million a year towards day-to-day operational costs and an Asset Renewal Programme. We are also taking steps to improve rail connectivity in the North East. The Northern franchise will see a new high quality Northern Connect service operate at least 10 times per day between Middlesbrough and Carlisle via Newcastle, with Hexham and the MetroCentre becoming Northern Connect stations with staff, WiFi and catering outlets. The Transpennine franchise will see the introduction of a new hourly service between Newcastle and Edinburgh, along with an increase in the frequency of trains between Newcastle and York/Leeds/Manchester from one to two trains per hour. The North East will also benefit from the £250 million being paid this year to support bus services in England through Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG). Around £40 million of this BSOG funding is paid directly to local authorities, rather than bus operators to help deliver bus services. The Government also provides almost £1 billion of funding for the concessionary bus pass every year, and remains committed to the scheme. In addition, we have recently announced that the Tees Valley Combined Authority will receive a per capita allocation of £59 million from the new £1.7 billion Transforming Cities Fund to improve intra-urban connectivity. Other cities in the North East without a Metro Mayor may be able to benefit from the competitive part of the Fund, which will be launched shortly.

Shipping: Statistics

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the findings from his Department’s Seafarer Statistics User Engagement Exercise which ran from 1 September to 30 October 2016.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the reasons are for the time taken to publish the most recent of the annual Seafarer Statistics series; and when he plans to publish the 2017 Seafarer Statistics.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many UK seafarer (a) Ratings and (b) Officers were employed on UK Ship Registered vessels in each year since 2000-01.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many EEA seafarer (a) Ratings and (b) Officers were employed on UK Ship Registered vessels in each year since 2000-01.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many non-EEA seafarer (a) Ratings and (b) Officers were employed on UK Ship Registered vessels in each year since 2000-01.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The 2017 Seafarer Statistics are scheduled for publication in May 2018. This is to allow sufficient time following user engagement to review the existing set of statistics and consider ways in which they may be improved. A summary of user feedback received will be included alongside this release. As part of the review of the current statistics, the Department is currently assessing the quality of data collected on registration of vessel and seafarer nationality with a view to deriving new official statistics. Should the data be considered to be sufficiently robust, then the information requested will be included with the next publication.

Offshore Industry: Decommissioning

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to attract vessels required for decommissioning projects in the domestic offshore oil and gas industry to the UK Ship Register.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to attract vessels required for offshore wind projects in UK territorial waters to the UK Ship Register.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK Ship Register (UKSR) in line with Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Business Plan 2018-19 will carry out focused marketing activities to attract quality ships and quality owners. The MCA and UKSR will use their professional knowledge and expertise to implement the recommendations of the Maritime Growth Study to promote the UK Ship Register brand, deliver enhanced customer service and significantly grow the fleet.One of the UKSR’s main objectives is to increase the tonnage of the UK fleet towards 30 million gross tonnes and to achieve this goal it will support identified key markets, which includes domestic offshore oil and gas as well as offshore windfarm vessels.

M60: Repairs and Maintenance

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the efficacy of the working practices relating to the smart motorway construction work on the westbound carriageway of the M60; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The M60 J8 to M62 J20 is a busy stretch of urban motorway and due to the complexities this scheme presented, it was became clear that creating long lengths of roadworks for the whole delivery of the scheme was not practical, and that phasing the works was a more appropriate approach. This assessment of working practices is currently being shared with future smart motorway projects.

Community Transport

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage community transport (a) providers and (b) users to respond to his Department’s consultation on the use of section 19 and section 22 permits for road passenger transport in Great Britain.

Jesse Norman: The consultation document was sent out to the Community Transport Association, wider community transport stakeholders and local authorities on the day of the launch notifying them of the publication. Officials in the Department are also working closely with relevant interested stakeholders, including the Community Transport Association and local authorities, on a series of regional events during the consultation period.

Bridges: Tolls

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban tolls on river crossings.

Jesse Norman: The Government has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban tolls on river crossings. It is Government policy that those who benefit from the significant improvements that estuarial crossings bring should help to pay for them. Successive Governments have taken the view that tolls are justified when private finance enables key road infrastructure such as significant river crossings to proceed and to be maintained.

Tyne and Wear Metro: Rolling Stock

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the procurement, delivery and rollout of the new fleet of trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Jesse Norman: Nexus are responsible for the management of the procurement, delivery and rollout of the new fleet of trains. Nexus provide the Department for Transport with regular updates on this procurement work as part of its regular reporting. The Periodic Indicative Notice (PIN) for the procurement of the new fleet by Nexus was published on 25 January 2018.

A19: Accidents

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of collisions on the A19 road in the North East.

Jesse Norman: The information requested is set out in the table below: Section2016A19 Seaton Burn to Tyne Tunnel Fatal1Serious4Slight62Total67A19 Tyne Tunnel to A181 Fatal0Serious8Slight94Total102A19: A181 to Tees Crossing Fatal0Serious10Slight31Total41A19: Tees Crossing down to A168 Fatal1Serious7Slight48Total56

Great Western Railway Line

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, the number of technical incidents registered on bimodal trains on the Great Western Mainline since their inception.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 01 March 2018



The number of technical incidents reported by the Rail Delivery Group on the Great Western Main Line for the Class 800 bi-mode trains since entering passenger service (up to February 3, 2018) is 201. Technical incidents are those where a problem with the unit or rolling stock leads to a delay of 3 minutes or more; we do not however have the information to determine how many of these technical incidents were essentially minor leading to delays of only a few minutes or were other faults. The figures may additionally be revised to take account of disputes being resolved relating to the responsibility for the delay. This may happen with overhead line faults (Network Rail’s responsibility) being incorrectly described as a rolling stock fault. New rolling stock often experience teething problems when entering service.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what revenue has been raised by the Dart Charge in each year since 2015.

Jesse Norman: The revenue raised by Dart Charge for financial years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 can be found in the Dart Charge annual accounts which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=&publication_filter_option=corporate-reports&topics%5B%5D=all&departments%5B%5D=highways-england&official_document_status=all&world_locations%5B%5D=all&from_date=&to_date

Manchester-Sheffield Railway Line

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport,  whether his Department has allocated funding for Network Rail's Hope Valley Capacity Order.

Joseph Johnson: On 13 February 2018, the Secretary of State announced his decision to provide Network Rail Infrastructure Limited with the legal powers to construct, operate and maintain new passing facilities and associated railway infrastructure on the Hope Valley route between Bamford and Hathersage and at Dore. The position on funding for this scheme is as set out in the Secretary of State’s decision letter of 13 February 2018 which is available on the GOV.UK website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/network-rail-hope-valley-capacity-order

Manchester-Sheffield Railway Line

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for train operating companies to operate increased services on Network Rail's Hope Valley Capacity Order.

Joseph Johnson: The Department’s value for money assessment includes assumptions about the financial merits of increasing the number of passenger services on this route. This assessment will need to be refreshed as part of taking forward further work on this scheme. Decisions about future franchise changes will be assessed on their merits as part of this further work.

East Coast Railway Line

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the implications for its policies on the East Coast mainline of the findings of a Populus poll in 2017 that 76 per cent of the UK population favour returning railways to public ownership.

Joseph Johnson: The public sector already has an important role to play on Britain’s railways, with Network Rail working closely with train operating companies to deliver services and improvements. The department is committed to making this collaboration between the public and private sectors even stronger on the East Coast. The Government is currently reviewing two options for the continuation of services on the East Coast. One is to allow Stagecoach to continue operating the service under a very strictly designed short-term arrangement. The second is for the franchise to be directly operated by the Department for Transport, through an operator of last resort. The Department will choose the option that offers best value for money for taxpayers and protects the interests of passengers.

Railways: North of England

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Transport of 27 February 2018, Official Report, column 793, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of trains in the north of England which will be (a) replaced and (b) refurbished by 2020.

Joseph Johnson: The Northern franchise will introduce 281 new vehicles (equivalent to 37% of the current fleet*) into the franchise from 2018 onwards to replace the 208 ‘Pacers’. 82% of the Northern fleet will be refurbished. 84% of TransPennine Express trains will be refurbished ‘as new’ by July 2018, with the remaining 16% being replaced.  *based on numbers on day one of the franchise

Bus Services: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of local bus services in (a) Coventry South constituency, (b) Coventry and the (c) the West Midlands since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The bus market in England outside London is deregulated and decisions regarding service provision are primarily a matter for bus operators, although local authorities do support socially necessary routes that are not commercially viable.  The Bus Services Act 2017 provides the tools local authorities need to improve local bus services. We are working with local authorities to determine which of the powers provided are best able to support bus networks in their areas.

Roads: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the (a) A12 widening scheme and (b) the dualling and upgrading the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey.

Jesse Norman: The A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening scheme is in an early stage of development and our current assumption is that it will cost in excess of £500m The A120 upgrade between Braintree and the A12 is being developed by Essex County Council and their current estimate is between £475m and £825m in 2016 prices.

Cycling and Walking: Infrastructure

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to update national design guidance on cycling and walking infrastructure.

Jesse Norman: The Department’s guidance for local authorities on designing good, safe infrastructure for cyclists is set out in Local Transport Note 2/08. In line with the commitment made in the Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, the Department is in the process of updating this guidance to take account of developments in cycling infrastructure since its publication in 2008, and aims to publish a revised version by the end of 2018. Additionally, the Department is in the process of reviewing both the Inclusive Mobility and Tactile Paving guidance and has let a research contract to establish the scope of revisions needed. Research for this is anticipated to be completed later this year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy: Infrastructure

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of money invested by energy companies in infrastructure in the UK in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has forecast investment in UK infrastructure by energy companies in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not hold specific information regarding “energy companies”; we monitor capacity of energy generation rather than levels of investment by specific companies when in developing and implementing policy. The UK has made great progress in securing investment in clean and secure energy. More than £52 billion has been invested in renewable energy since 2010. We are committed to ensuring that the UK remains an attractive destination for investment as the UK negotiates its withdrawal from the EU. Through our Industrial Strategy, we are investing £2.5 billion to support low carbon innovation in the UK between 2015 and 2021, and providing £31 billion to the National Productivity Fund to support investments in innovation and infrastructure.

Cryptocurrencies

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding has been allocated to research opportunities for digital currency technology and its potential applications.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) leads the cross Council Digital Economy (DE) Theme, which incorporates the digital currency technology and associated distributed ledger technology activities, announced in the March 2015 Budget. To date, the DE Theme has invested around £7.2 million in the following activities: A £260,000 project - Third Party Dematerialisation and Rematerialisation of Capital.An 18-month £0.4 million project investigating the phenomena of cryptocurrencies and their associated underlying technology - Cryptocurrency Effects in Digital Transformations (CREDIT)A £3.7 million for seven interdisciplinary feasibility studies that will explore and understanding transformative use cases of distributed ledger technology “Applications of Distributed Ledger Technology” resulting in. Details of the projects are available on the EPSRC website at: http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/NGBOViewPanelROL.aspx?PanelId=1-3X22ML&RankingListId=1-3X22MSThree projects relevant to research in applications of distributed ledger technology were supported under “Broad applications of distributed ledger technologies” as one of six focal areas in a £10 million call for research proposals on the Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security in the Digital Economy call (2015) - see http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/NGBOViewPanel.aspx?PanelId=1-37PAUA) Innovate UK has funded projects that develop and commercial digital currency technologies with various sectoral applications, related to blockchain and distributed ledger projects for use in areas like provenance tracking of goods. Since 2004 Innovate UK has invested nearly £2 million into these technologies.

Geothermal Power

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using geothermal mine water to contribute to the UK’s energy supply; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Clean Growth Strategy has a clear focus on the challenges and opportunities involved in decarbonising heat in buildings and industry. We need to reduce the emissions created by heating our homes and businesses as these contribute almost a third of UK emissions.The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working in partnership with The Coal Authority to better understand the geothermal mine water resource available across the UK. The Coal Authority has responsibility for managing the mining legacy and has recently assessed there to be over two million gigawatt hours of low carbon heat stored in mine workings across the UK.There are a number of ways to utilise this resource: using the heat for heat networks, for agriculture and for energy storage. An example of where this is actively being considered is in Wales, with Bridgend County Borough Council and The Coal Authority working together to explore using this mine heat for a heat network to provide local homes and businesses with low carbon, affordable heating. This can help reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the UK’s energy supply.

Land Registry: Greater London

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) mortgages, (b) leaseholds and (c) properties overall are registered with the Land Registry in (i) London and (ii) Hampstead and Kilburn constituency.

Andrew Griffiths: HM Land Registry records the number of freehold and leasehold titles registered. A registered title does not always equate one to one with an individual property. (i) For London, there are (a) 3,077,299 mortgages, (b) 1,368,992 leasehold titles and a total of 3,262,166 freehold and leasehold titles registered with HM Land Registry. (ii) For Hampstead and Kilburn, there are (a) 27,508 mortgages, (b) 35,241 leasehold titles and a total of 55,648 freehold and leasehold titles registered with HM Land Registry.

Land Registry: Fees and Charges

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the amount charged by the Land Registry in fees for each of the (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory functions it fulfils in each financial year since 2016; and how much was raised in fees (i) nationally, (ii) from registrations in London and (iii) from registrations in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in each financial year since 2016.

Andrew Griffiths: HM Land Registry publishes information on its fees and charges on its website at GOV.UK. Nationally for 2015/2016 HM Land Registry received £290,389,000 in statutory fee income and £4,983,000 in non-statutory fee income. Nationally for 2016/2017 HM Land Registry received £305,858,000 in statutory fee income and £5,567,000 in non-statutory fee income. Fee data is not held at regional or constituency level and obtaining that would be at disproportionate cost.

Minimum Wage

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to publish the latest estimates made by HM Revenue and Customs on the (a) number and (b) proportion of workers in (i) the adult care sector and (ii) each other sector who were paid below the level of the national minimum wage.

Andrew Griffiths: Estimates of the number of jobs paid below NMW/NLW are available in Chart 3 on page 10 of the 2017 Government evidence to the LPC report- https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630197/nmw-nlw-lpc-evidence-compliance-enforcement-2017.pdf The Government will publish new evidence to the Low Pay Commission containing ASHE 2017 estimates of jobs below minimum wage rates and enforcement stats for 2017/18 later this year.

Companies: Ownership

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the consultation Property ownership and public contracting by overseas companies: improving transparency, published by his Department on 4 March 2016, what steps his Department has taken following the results of that consultation.

Andrew Griffiths: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published a summary of responses to the consultation on Property ownership and public contracting by overseas companies: improving transparency on 5 April 2017. On the same day, the Department published a call for evidence on an Overseas companies and other legal entities beneficial ownership register. The Government response to the call for evidence will be published shortly. On 24 January this year the Government issued a written ministerial statement confirming the timetable for implementation of this register. The Government will publish a draft Bill before the summer recess this year. We intend to introduce the Bill to Parliament early in the second session. Following Royal Assent and the making of secondary legislation to implement some of the technical details, the register will be operational in 2021.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Business Interests

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which members of his Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and senior civil servants.

Richard Harrington: Applications by former Ministers are considered by the Independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments directly. For applications from former Civil Servants: The Departmental Audit and Risk Committee, which is currently chaired by Charles Randell, a Departmental Non-Executive Director will monitor compliance issues relating to the Business Appointment Rules at regular intervals.

Carillion: Insolvency

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with companies inheriting contracts from Carillion on the extension of TUPE rights to Carillion employees.

Andrew Griffiths: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28th February 2018 to Question UIN 129511.

Commercial Secrets: EU Law

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government will take steps to ensure that the transposition into UK law of Article 7 of the Trade Secrets Directive includes strong language to penalise abusive litigation so as to prevent companies from using the threat of litigation to deter competitors or public interest scrutiny.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government is seeking views on draft regulations to transpose the Trade Secrets Directive into UK law and launched a technical consultation on 19 February 2018. The Government is of the view that it is not necessary to transpose the provisions of Article 7 of the Directive as UK law and court rules already provide for appropriate measures to be taken where an applicant is found to have initiated legal proceedings in bad faith or where the proceedings are an abuse of process. However, the Government will consider any views to the contrary submitted to the consultation.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to make it easier for private companies to install charging infrastructure for Electric Vehicles on 3rd-party land.

Richard Harrington: Negotiations to facilitate charging infrastructure for electric vehicle installation across third party land rights is a private negotiation between the company and the relevant landowner. As a last resort if agreement cannot be reached, electricity licence holders (as statutory undertakers and installers of such connections on behalf of the private company) have powers under the Electricity Act 1989 that permits them to apply to the Secretary of State for a Compulsory Purchase Order or a necessary (compulsory) wayleave relating to the third party land.

Green Deal Scheme: Glasgow North East

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Glasgow North East constituency have had works carried out under the Green Deal scheme.

Claire Perry: Since the start of the Green Deal in 2013 in Glasgow North East constituency 167 properties have had works carried out under the Green Deal scheme.

Reprography

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will he make an assessment of the potential contribution of 3D printing to UK GDP by 2020.

Richard Harrington: The industry backed Additive Manufacturing strategy identifies that the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Sector can capture over £3.5bn per year (Gross Value Added) for the UK of the rapidly growing global market for additive manufacturing products (3D printing) and services by 2025, supporting 60,000 jobs in the knowledge economy and generating new, highly skilled employment opportunities. The industry led Made Smarter Review also identifies the contribution of digitally enabled technologies to manufacturing-including additive manufacturing- to the UK economy to be as much as £455 billion over the next decade. As part of the Industrial Strategy, we are working closely with UK industry to create the right conditions for competitive, world leading manufacturing businesses to flourish and grow across the UK. Government recognises the importance of 3D printing and additive manufacturing and since 2012 The UK’s EPSRC and Innovate UK’s combined investment in additive manufacturing R&D, including capital grants, has been well over £200 million, helping to develop and maintain UK capability in additive in the UK. In addition we have invested over £300m in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, including establishing the National Centre for Net Shape and Addictive Manufacturing housed in the Manufacture Technology Centre in Coventry. Its aim is to develop production-ready additive manufacturing processes, to overcome barriers to wide-scale adoption, and to work on legislative and standardisation issues to support the commercialisation of the innovation and new technologies such as 3D printing.

Fuel Poverty: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of fuel poverty in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.

Claire Perry: The table below shows the number and proportion of households living in fuel poverty in Coventry and the West Midlands from 2008 to the latest data available (2015). YearWest MidlandsCoventry Fuel Poor HouseholdsPercent Fuel PoorFuel Poor HouseholdsPercent Fuel Poor2008403,00018%--2009346,00015%--2010306,00014%--2011323,00014%20,00016%2012340,20015.2%20,50016.3%2013320,00013.9%20,60015.9%2014279,70012.1%16,80013.0%2015316,00013.5%18,90014.4% Household figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.We do not have data available for Coventry before 2011 due to our fuel poverty methodology change from the 10% measure to Low Income High Cost. The latest sub-regional fuel poverty statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-statistics

Defence: Industry

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to seek a Defence Sector Deal.

Richard Harrington: The Department is working with the defence sector through the Defence Growth Partnership to enable growth across the defence sector with a focus on productivity and competitiveness. Government will consider any sector deal proposal from the defence sector alongside other prospective sector deals as those proposals mature.

BAE Systems: Redundancy

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions officials of his Department have had with BAE Systems on that company's ongoing redundancy programme.

Richard Harrington: BEIS officials are in regular contact with BAE Systems who are keeping us informed of developments and progress with their redundancy programme. This recent redundancy announcement is a commercial decision by the company. I appreciate that this is a worrying time for BAE Systems’ employees and their families and the Department is working with the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Work and Pensions in discussing potential options to support those affected workers. BAE Systems are also working with Government via the Defence Growth Partnership to consider plans for future growth opportunities across the sector.

Job Creation: St Helens South and Whiston

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support job creation schemes in St Helens South and Whiston constituency; and how much Regional Growth Fund money has been allocated to (a) that constituency and (b) the North West.

Andrew Griffiths: The Northern Powerhouse will support delivery of our Industrial Strategy boosting growth across the North including the creation of jobs in the North West ensuring an economy that works for everyone.We are helping small businesses grow through access to advice on GOV.UK and the Business Support Helpline. We have already invested £12 million in the 38 Growth Hubs in each of the Local Enterprise Partnership areas providing tailored advice to businesses across England. We have announced we will provide a further £24m to continue Growth Hubs for the next 2 years. The Liverpool City Region Growth Hub, which covers St Helens South and Whiston constituency, has supported over 5, 800 businesses and helped 1,500 individuals to start a business.In February 2017, we launched the £400 million Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund to give small businesses in the North access to finance to help them start-up and grow. 74 investments or loans have been made in the North West totalling over £14m. Four investments have been made in the hon Member's constituency, totalling £270, 000.The Regional Growth Fund was established to support job creation and economic growth. £1.59m has been allocated to the hon Member's constituency creating or safeguarding 228 jobs. Over £504 million has been allocated to North WestIn addition, we have invested over £1.5 billion through the Local Growth Fund in North West projects to boost local economies. We will invest £332m in Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership area creating 15,400 jobs. This will support projects such as St Helens College, Windle Island Improvements and St Helens Town Centre Connectivity in the hon Member's constituency.

Intellectual Property

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the British intellectual property sector and the businesses that rely upon that sector.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The UK has one of the best IP regimes in the world, and leaving the EU will not change that: we will continue to deliver quality rights granting services, lead the world in enforcement and engage in international IP discussions. The Government is considering options to ensure that the UK’s intellectual property regime will continue to support business and innovation in the future.

Radioactive Materials: Regulation

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, by what year the Office for Nuclear Regulation is planning to deliver a Euratom-equivalent UK State System for Accountability for and Control of nuclear material.

Richard Harrington: It is my assessment, based on current progress, that the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) would be in a position to deliver to international standards by March 2019 and will then move to Euratom standards as soon as possible thereafter. The speed with which the ONR is able to move from international standards to a domestic nuclear safeguards regime that dependent on negotiations with the EU including negotiations on future co-operation with Euratom on the UK’s safeguards.

Office for Nuclear Regulation: Recruitment

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many candidates have (a) applied, (b) been successful and (c) been rejected for positions in the new nuclear Safeguards Inspectorate in the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

Richard Harrington: The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has run two recruitment exercises during 2017/18 to recruit staff into safeguards roles. The second exercise has closed for applications, but shortlisting and interviewing has not yet concluded. As of 1 March 2018, across both recruitment exercises a total of 112 candidates have applied for these roles; six applicants have been offered appointments; and no offers from ONR have been rejected.

Radioactive Materials: Regulation

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the value is of the spending commitments that the Office for Nuclear Regulation has been authorised to make as part of the project to establish a UK State System for Accountability and Control of nuclear material.

Richard Harrington: The Department will allocate to the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) the funding necessary to establish the UK State System of Accountancy for, and Control of, nuclear materials, which meets international standards for nuclear safeguards ahead of 29th March 2019. As explained in the explanatory notes of the Nuclear Safeguards Bill republished on 24 January 2018 when the Bill was brought to the House of Lords, the necessary funding is estimated at potentially up to £10 million. As the first part of this funding, the Department has secured a contingencies fund advance to the amount of £2.275 million to provide financial cover to the ONR for its project activities until the end of financial year 2017-18.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Raymond Koh

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he will make representations to his Malaysian counterparts on the kidnapping of Pastor Raymond Koh in that country.

Mark Field: The UK remains concerned by the disappearance and apparent abduction of Pastor Koh. We have raised the case with the Malaysian government on several occasions. Most recently, a senior FCO official raised the case at ministerial level during her visit to Kuala Lumpur in November 2017.The British Government is firmly committed to standing up for freedom of religion, and for individuals to practice their beliefs free from fear. These views are well known in Malaysia, and our longstanding relationship allows us to raise concerns at the highest level with the Malaysian government.

Turkey: Armed Conflict

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Oral Answer of the Minister of State for Europe and the Americas to the right hon. Member for Enfield North on 20 February 2018, whether any discussions have taken place between the UK Government and (a) the PYD and (b) the YPG following Turkey’s military operation in the Afrin region.

Alistair Burt: We are closely following developments in Afrin and wider north-western Syria. The UK has only occasional contact with the PYD, which we use to discuss the situation in Syria.We are calling for de-escalation and protection of civilians. While recognising Turkey's legitimate interest in the security of its borders, it remains in our shared interest to focus on achieving a political settlement that ends the war and suffering, and provides stability for all Syrians and the wider region, and secures the enduring defeat of Daesh – in which the Syrian Democratic Forces have played a vital role.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2018 to Question 128740, on Syria: Armed Conflict, when the Government last raised the issue of Eastern Ghouta (a) at the UN and (b) with Russia; and what response the Government received on each such occasion.

Alistair Burt: The UK has raised the issue of Eastern Ghouta at the UN and with Russia on numerous occasions. On 5th March, the Human Rights Council, in Geneva paved a resolution introduced by the UK on the situation in Eastern Ghouta. On 27 February, Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Sir Alan Duncan met Russian Ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, stressing UK concern at the current situation in Syria, particularly the crisis in Eastern Ghouta. He urged Russia to use its influence to ensure the Syrian regime adhered to the ceasefire demanded by UN Security Council Resolution 2401 to allow rapid, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access and non-conditional medical evacuations which are urgently needed.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Internet

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the volume of UK citizens’ data held by companies (a) supplying cloud services to his Department and (b) contracted to deliver cloud services on behalf of his Department which is subject to information requests from US Government bodies.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not currently process any UK citizen data via cloud services. Any cloud services used in the future will meet the requirements of the new Data Protection Legislation expected in May 2018 and will follow Cabinet Office and Information Commissioner's Office guidance on the procurement of Cloud Services.

Diplomatic Service: United Nations

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who is acting as UK Ambassador to the UN prior to Karen Pierce taking up that post.

Harriett Baldwin: Ambassador Jonathan Allen, Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, is Charge d'Affaires and Acting Permanent Representative until the arrival of Karen Pierce in Spring 2018.

Borders: Northern Ireland

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last visited the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has not visited the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland since his appointment as Foreign Secretary. He has visited the border several times prior to becoming Foreign Secretary, both before and after the Belfast Agreement was agreed and implemented. He last visited Ireland on 16-17 November 2017.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the implementation of a ceasefire in the Afrin region as a result of UN Resolution 2401.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign Secretary has been in regular contact with his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu, and has encouraged de-escalation in Afrin and the protection of civilians, while recognising Turkey's legitimate security interests. In line with UNSCR 2401, the UK urgently wants to see the safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services across the country, and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded, in accordance with applicable international law.

Golan Heights: Elections

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications of Israel’s plans to hold local elections in the Golan Heights; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: ​Whilst we have not made an assessment on this specific issue, we consider the Golan Heights to be Occupied Territory. We continue to call on Israel, as the occupying power, to uphold its obligations under international law. This includes abiding by UN Security Council Resolution 497 (1981) and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Government of Turkey on military operations against the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​We are closely following developments in Afrin in north-western Syria, and the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are in regular contact with their Turkish counterparts. We have called for de-escalation and the protection of civilians. While recognising Turkey's legitimate interest in the security of its borders, it remains in our shared interest to focus on achieving a political settlement that ends the war and suffering, provides stability for all Syrians and the wider region, and secures the enduring defeat of Daesh.

Syria: Kurds

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 17 January 2018 to Question HL4467 on Syria: Kurds, whether the Government plans to provide (a) diplomatic, (b) military, and (c) humanitarian support to the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.

Alistair Burt: Diplomatically, the UK does not support any unilateral declaration of autonomy or independence in Syria – Syria's constitutional arrangements must be decided through the UN-led Geneva process. In that context, we will continue to support a political settlement which provides protection for the rights of all Syrians including the Kurds. Militarily, we will continue to play an active role in the Global Coalition against Daesh which has supported the Syrian Democratic Forces in pushing Daesh out of territory in north-east Syria. We will continue to provide humanitarian aid to help meet the needs of the population in north-east Syria.

Estonia: Politics and Government

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his counterpart in Estonia and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary last met Foreign Minister Mikser for a formal bilateral meeting on 7/8 September in Tallinn. They also meet regularly in the margins of EU Council meetings, most recently at the informal Foreign Ministers meeting on 15 February.

Latvia: Politics and Government

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his counterpart in Latvia and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary last met Foreign Minister Rinkēvičs for a formal bilateral meeting on 9 February in London. They also meet regularly in the margins of EU Council meetings, most recently at the informal Foreign Ministers meeting on 15 February.

India: Christianity

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the treatment of Christians in India.

Mark Field: The Government remains committed to promoting and defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for Christians, and indeed individuals of all faiths or beliefs.We continue to engage with key Indian contacts on a range of human rights issues, including minority rights. The British High Commission in New Delhi, our network of Deputy High Commissions, as well as FCO officials in London, maintain a continuous assessment of the human rights situation across India, including with civil society groups in India. We are aware of reported incidents against religious minorities in India and continue to monitor the situation.

Kenya and Somalia: Arms Trade

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to help stop the supply of arms to al-Shaabab in Somalia and Kenya.

Harriett Baldwin: The primary barrier to the flow of arms to al Shabaab in Somalia is the UN Security Council (UNSC) arms embargo imposed with Resolution 733 in 1992. As a permanent member of the Security Council, the UK fully supports this embargo.The partial suspension of the arms embargo in Resolution 2317 (2016) was designed to allow the Federal Government to obtain the equipment needed to develop the Somali national security forces, which are critical for Somalia's long-term security. Safeguards exist within the framework of the suspension. These include restrictions on heavy weaponry, monitoring mechanisms, and requirements to notify and report to the UN. The Monitoring Group's mandate was also extended, to 15 December 2018, in UNSC Resolution 2385 (2017). Individuals who abuse the suspension may also be listed under the sanctions regime.

Chemical Weapons

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether chlorine gas is prohibited as a weapon under the 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

Sir Alan Duncan: The use of chlorine gas as a weapon is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the coding of diagnoses of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome on NHS systems.

Steve Brine: NHS England does not have any current plans to assess the coding of National Health Service care for patients with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. In response to the commitments outlined in the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases, NHS England published the Rare Diseases Implementation Plan in which it proposed to monitor the development of International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11 and support the accurate characterisation of patients through Human Phenotype Ontology terms as being developed through the 100,000 Genomes Project. More information about the NHS England Rare Diseases Implementation Plan can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/implementation-plan-for-the-uk-strategy-for-rare-diseases/

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will establish a multi-disciplinary centre of excellence with leadership from a senior clinician to focus on Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.

Steve Brine: Care for patients with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) in an outpatient setting will typically be within local allergy clinics, available in most hospitals. These services are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups. There are no current plans to designate or commission the care of patients with MCAS as a prescribed national specialised clinic or service. A list of local allergy clinics can be obtained from the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology at: http://www.bsaci.org/professionals/allergy-specialists The Royal College of Physician’s Improving Quality in Allergy Services scheme at: www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/improving-quality-allergy-services

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will include Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) in the 100K genome project and establish links to the MCAS Research Centre at the University of Bonn Institute of Genetics.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) does not currently have a specific disease category within the 100,000 Genomes Project but patients with MCAS in the context of other medical disorders or congenital malformations suggestive of a genetic cause are eligible. In addition, a proposal for inclusion of familial MCAS in the project is currently under peer review and will be considered by the Genomics England Science Advisory Committee at their next meeting. Genomics England will seek to establish links between the relevant Genomics England Clinical Interpretation Partnership (GeCIP) domains and the MCAS Research Centre at the University Of Bonn Institute Of Genetics. More about GeCIP can be found here: https://www.genomicsengland.co.uk/about-gecip/

Prisoners: HIV Infection

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) availability, (b) quality and (c) effectiveness of HIV testing and treatment in prisons.

Jackie Doyle-Price: HIV testing is available in all prisons in England through healthcare services commissioned by NHS England, through both primary care and genitourinary medicine services. Additionally, all adult prisons in England will provide HIV testing through an ‘opt-out’ testing programme at or near reception by the end of the current financial year as part of a wider blood-borne virus opt-out testing programme being delivered in partnership between Public Health England, NHS England and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. The quality of services is assessed by NHS England on a quarterly basis through the collection of data via the Health and Justice Indicators of Performance (HJIPs), which includes information on the number of people offered HIV tests, those tested and the number of people newly diagnosed with HIV referred for treatment within two weeks of diagnosis. For quarter one of financial year 2017/18, 10,574 prisoners were tested for HIV, and 197 cases of HIV were diagnosed in this cohort. Of those, 39 were seen by specialist service providers within two weeks of diagnosis. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/666850/BBV_bulletin_Dec_2017.pdf

Prisons: Drugs

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) quality, (b) availability and (c) effectiveness of drug treatment services in prisons.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Drug treatment services in prisons have been systematically reviewed over the past 18 months, as a part of the development of a new service specification. NHS England and their partners support development of a new commissioning service specification as part of a quality improvement programme for prison health services. The NHS England teams that commission these assessments also hold quarterly performance review meetings with drug treatment providers, and recommission the services as a part of a three to five year cycle (or earlier if required). On average, there was no wait for drug treatment services and nearly all (95%) people started their first treatment intervention within three weeks of being assessed but would start immediately if it was clinically appropriate to do so. Regular needs assessments are undertaken by NHS England to identify specific establishment-level needs. Effectiveness is measured by Public Health England through the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System. In total, 37,330 individuals left treatment between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017. Of the individuals that left treatment in the year, 10,066 (27%) were discharged as ‘treatment completed’, up from 23% in 2015-16. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/677500/OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE_secure_setting_annual_report_2016-17FINAL-v1.2.pdf

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the total sleep-in back pay liability which will accrue to providers in the Belfast South constituency.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is not centrally held. The Government is in discussions with the devolved administration as they work with social care sector representatives to better understand the impact of these liabilities in Northern Ireland.

NHS: ICT

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to implement a blockchain enabled patient record system, similar to standard practice in Estonia.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department does not currently plan to implement Blockchain enabled-patient records. The Department is currently assessing the potential benefits of Blockchain along with a number of other innovative, emerging technologies.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the new faecal immunochemical test will be introduced in April 2018 as planned.

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which health body will be responsible for making the final decision on the sensitivity threshold for the faecal immunochemical test when it is introduced into the bowel cancer screening programme due to be implemented in April 2018.

Steve Brine: It is expected that the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) will be implemented during 2018/19 as the primary screen test for the bowel cancer screening programme. The Department has asked NHS England to lead the implementation of FIT and work through the practical steps to enable them to commission the new service from National Health Service providers. This will include: the sensitivity threshold at which FIT will be set; and consequent planning for colonoscopy and pathology workforce capacity; the distribution of the test kits; laboratory set up; new information technology links with the FIT analysing machines; staff training and public information. NHS England will undertake this with expert advice, practical support, standard setting and quality assurance from Public Health England. As these practical steps are put into place, a more specific date in 2018 will be confirmed for the introduction of FIT as the primary screen test for the bowel cancer screening programme.

Chiropody

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure greater uptake of the recommendation in NICE Clinical Guidance 19 that podiatrists with specialist training should lead foot protection services.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance to commissioners and providers states that the foot protection service should be led by a podiatrist with specialist training in diabetic foot problems, and should have access to healthcare professionals with skills in Diabetology, Biomechanics and Orthoses and wound care. The Chief Allied Health Professions Officer’s team is working with NICE to increase Allied Health Profession (AHP) submissions to the NICE local practice collection, which showcases examples of best practice in health and social care. There are currently two examples of best practice for NICE Clinical Guidance 19 available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng19/resources/shared-learning We anticipate the ‘NICE into Action’ awards may generate further examples of how the guidance is being implemented and the impact this is having. The National Diabetes Footcare Audit (NDFA) requests and collects data from each clinical commissioning group on whether or not they have in place an established foot protection service pathway. For the 2016 NDFA commissioner survey, 83% of respondents had an established foot protection service pathway (response rate of 51.9%). The 2017 NDFA commissioner survey is due to be published in March 2018.

Arthritis: Chiropody

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that provision is made available for patients with rheumatoid arthritis to receive an annual assessment by a podiatrist.

Steve Brine: Provision of podiatry service is a local matter. The guideline ‘Rheumatoid arthritis in adults: management’, updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2015, recommends that all people with rheumatoid arthritis who have foot problems should have access to a podiatrist for assessment and periodic review of their foot health needs. We expect commissioners to take NICE guidance into account when planning services for local populations. The guideline can be found at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg79

Chiropody

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure Clinical Commissioning Groups commission foot protection services in accordance with NICE recommendations.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a guideline on ‘Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management’ (published in August 2015), which includes advice on establishing foot protection services. This guideline covers preventing and managing foot problems in children, young people and adults with diabetes. The guideline aims to reduce variation in practice, and includes recommendations on:- care within 24 hours;- care across all care settings;- referral for diabetic foot problems; and- investigating and managing diabetic foot ulcer, diabetic foot infection and Charcot arthropathy. NHS England would expect commissioners to take account of NICE guidance, which can be found here at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng19

Respiratory System: Diseases

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to update indicator 3.01 in the Public Health Outcomes Framework to include morbidity as well as mortality linked to anthropogenic PM2.5 to reflect the role of that pollutant in exacerbating cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses and increasing the risk of a health episode being experienced by those living with those conditions.

Steve Brine: The Public Health Outcomes Framework 3.01 indicator provides the fraction of adult mortality attributable to long-term exposure to human-made particulate air pollution. There are no plans to update this indicator to include morbidity.

Chiropody

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to mandate data collection on the commissioning of the podiatry workforce and services in England.

Stephen Barclay: Podiatry workforce data is available from NHS Digital’s NHS Hospital and Community Health Service workforce statistics. Data on the National Health Service workforce in all NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record. NHS Digital has established a working group with the Department, Health Education England, NHS Improvement and NHS England and NHS Employers tasked with scoping the future requirements of the NHS for healthcare workforce information. The commissioning of podiatry services generally is the responsibility of CCGs. CCGs are responsible for decisions on commissioning health services to best meet the needs of their local population.

Chiropody

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will begin collecting data on the cost-effectiveness of podiatric interventions.

Caroline Dinenage: There are no plans to collect data on the cost-effectiveness of podiatric interventions centrally. The Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAHPO) has established the Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) into Action programme, details of which can be found at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ahp-action-transform-hlth.pdf This will help to realise the potential of AHPs including podiatrists. As part of the programme, case studies are collected to demonstrate service improvements and are made available to a wider audience including provider organisations and commissioners. The CAHPO has also established annual awards to recognise good practice. A podiatrist won the workforce transformation award in 2017 for clinical and cost-effective service development for people with peripheral arterial disease.

Medical Equipment

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of ECMO beds this winter.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any patients have been unable to access an ECMO bed after its use had been clinically recommended in each of the (a) last 12 months and (b) last five years.

Stephen Barclay: NHS England has actively monitored Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) bed capacity over winter. During the period 1 November 2017 to 31 March 2018, NHS England monitors capacity on a weekly basis (increasing this frequency if required). During periods of high demand, capacity can be increased in line with an agreed standard operating procedure. There is no information to suggest that a patient who has been accepted for ECMO treatment has been unable to access it, either in the last 12 months or over the last five years. Any individual patient concerns about access to ECMO treatment would be most appropriately raised with the service provider or NHS England as the commissioner of ECMO services.

Autism: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans there are for the NHS to make available a blood and urine test for autism.

Caroline Dinenage: There are no current plans for the National Health Service to offer a blood and urine test for autism. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning autism services, including diagnostic services, to meet the requirements of their population. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population, are based on the available evidence and take into account national guidelines. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent expert body responsible for developing robust guidance for the NHS to support it in designing autism services, including diagnostic services that are in line with the best available evidence. NICE routinely reviews its guidance to ensure it reflects the latest evidence.

Mental Illness

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that the devolved administrations are able to share information on cases where (a) suicide, (b) self harm and (c) other mental health related issues.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Health and public health provision are devolved across countries within the United Kingdom and national policies are led by each devolved administration. Officials within devolved administrations can share information on health issues, including suicide, self-harm and mental health. The All Party Parliamentary Group for Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention also engages with hon. Members across the UK. We would welcome the opportunity to strengthen these links further to improve the way we share information about suicide and self-harm prevention with other devolved administrations.

Social Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many social care deferred payments were agreed by local authorities in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS Digital collects data on deferred payment agreements (DPAs), which is included in its Adult Social Care Activity and Finance report. The attached table provides the figures for 2016-17 in England:Number of DPAs at 31 MarchNumber of new DPAs during the yearNumber of DPAs Recovered during the yearNumber of DPAs Written Off during the year6,4402,8602,79055 Figures for 2017-18 will be published in autumn 2018.

Continuing Care

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, where people have experienced delays between assessment for NHS continuing healthcare and receiving a package of care (a) what was the average length of those delays and (b) what was the longest wait in each year for which data is available.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people experienced a delay between assessment for NHS continuing healthcare and receiving a package of care in each year for which data is available.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is not currently collected from clinical commissioning groups as part of any national data collection.

Eating Disorders: Children and Young People

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of referrals to community eating disorders services for children and young people being rejected solely on the grounds of weight or body mass index.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England does not hold this information as rejection on the grounds of weight and Body Mass Index is not in line with any of the published guidance such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidance on managing and treating eating disorders and the Eating Disorder Commissioning Guide, and should not occur. NICE’s guidance on eating disorders can be viewed via the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng69 Information on NHS England’s eating disorders programme is available here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/eating-disorders/ For children and young people aged between eight and 18 years, the Government is investing £150 million to expand eating disorder services and staff for 70 extended or new established community eating disorder services. This means at least 3,350 children and young people a year will receive swift, effective eating disorder treatment in the community.

Eating Disorders: Children and Young People

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that information on the number of children and young people accessing specialist treatment for an eating disorder is transparent.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to improving data and transparency on mental health, as was highlighted in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. The publicly available Mental Health Five Year Forward View Dashboard reports against eating disorder access and waiting time standards and captures a range of data at a local clinical commissioning groups, Sustainability and Transformation Plans and national level. https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/mental-health-five-year-forward-view-dashboard/ The Mental Health Services dataset (MHSDS) has included data regarding children and young people’s mental health since January 2016. The data collection is still experimental, with a focus on data quality and completion. Anticipating poor quality data in the early stages of the MHSDS, NHS England implemented an interim data collection via Unify2 that focused on the referral to treatment waiting time element of the Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder evidence based care pathway. This interim measure enabled collection of data and is helping to verify and improve the quality of statistics derived from the MHSDS. This Unify2 data is available quarterly starting from Quarter 1 in 2016/2017: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cyped-waiting-times/ The latest figures from Q3 (October – December 17) indicate that: - 76.9% of children and young people started treatment for an urgent case within one week (236 out of 307 young people who started treatment for an urgent case did so within one week). This is against a target of 95%; and - 83.1% of young people started treatment for a routine care within four weeks (1,238 out of 1,489 young people who started treatment for a routine case did so within four weeks). This is also against a target of 95%

Department of Health and Social Care: Internet

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of his Department’s cloud-hosting contracts have been awarded to (a) hyperscale cloud providers and (b) UK SMEs; and what the value of those contracts was in each of the last three years.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department has contracts in place for software as a service for business functionality with suppliers who deliver business solutions and services. These contracts are not solely for cloud-hosting, and software suppliers offer a range of services as part of such contracts. The value of these contracts is for the full service not just for cloud-hosting. The Department's central procurement system does not have a separate category for cloud-hosting contracts nor any central means of consistently identifying cloud-hosting services. To provide a comprehensive list would mean going back to each business area and Directorate in the Department and consulting with them extensively on which of the contracts they have commissioned are to be considered to be cloud-hosting. This would incur disproportionate cost to produce.

Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the first treatments and technologies chosen for the Accelerated Access Pathway will be available for the NHS to use.

Steve Brine: As set out in the response to the Accelerated Access Review, the Accelerated Access Pathway was established with the purpose of getting those innovations that we believe will be truly transformative to patients more quickly. The pathway will open in April for product selection. Exact timing of when the first products will reach the National Health Service will depend on those products selected. The Pathway will be open to medicines, devices, diagnostics and digital products.

Continuing Care

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the average time taken to progress applicants for NHS Continuing Healthcare to (a) checklist stage and (b) a full decision in (i) England and (ii) Gloucestershire; how those figures compare with target times; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: There is no information collected around time taken to progress applicants to the Checklist stage of NHS Continuing Healthcare. The national data collection includes information on the number of applications that progress from referral to eligibility decision within 28 days. The data collection does not include information that can be used to calculate average time taken. For the period 1 April – 31 December 2017 (quarters 1-3 of 2017/18), information published by NHS England shows:- Across England, 32,991 out of 55,920 applicants (59%) reached an eligibility decision within 28 days of referral; and - In NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) 105 out of 479 applicants (22%) reached an eligibility decision within 28 days of referral. In NHS South Gloucestershire CCG 369 out of 439 applicants (84%) reached an eligibility decision within 28 days of referral.

NHS: Private Companies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department's contractual guidance on the (a) access and (b) use of big data collected by private companies contracted to the NHS.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department recently published the updated standard National Health Service Terms and Conditions which reflect the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The NHS Terms and Conditions require suppliers to the NHS to comply with the Procurement Policy Note 03/17 Changes to Data Protection Legislation and General Data Protection Regulation (PPN) published by the Government Crown Commercial Service. This PPN places an obligation on the contracting authority to take certain steps to ensure suppliers are compliant with GDPR (ensuring security of personal data) in existing contracts and for contracts awarded after 25 May 2018.

Suicide

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have committed suicide who had (a) visited their GP, (b) visited a general hospital, and (c) accessed NHS psychiatric services in the 3 months before their death in each of the last 5 years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This information is not held centrally.

General Practitioners: Fees and Charges

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to general practitioners on charging to provide medical evidence to support benefit claims.

Steve Brine: General practitioners (GPs) are independent contractors who hold contracts with NHS England to provide primary medical services for the National Health Service. Under the terms of their contract, GPs are required to provide certain medical reports or complete certain forms, such as those required to support a claim for incapacity benefit, free of charge to their registered patients. Outside of contractual requirements, GPs also provide a variety of other services which successive Governments have regarded as private matters between the patient and the GP providing these services. In such cases, decisions on whether to charge a fee and the level of the fee charged are at the GP’s discretion. Where GPs intend to charge for services to patients, the British Medical Association (BMA) advises them to forewarn patients, at the earliest opportunity, of the likely level of fees. The BMA also produces guidance on the level of fees that should be charged for various services.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the estimated cost is of the Royal Free and North London Breast Screening Service for 2018-19.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mammographers are planned for employment under the Royal Free and North London Breast Screening Service in 2018-19.

Steve Brine: The estimated cost of the Royal Free and North London Breast Screening Service for 2018-19 is not currently available centrally. The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust advises that it plans to employ 26.45 (whole time equivalent) mammographers on the North London Breast Screening Service for 2018/19.

Department of Health and Social Care: Loans

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much interest has been paid by NHS trusts and Foundation Trusts on bailout loans from his Department in (a) this year and (b) each of the past five years; where such interest is paid to; and for what purposes such interest payments were subsequently used.

Stephen Barclay: Interest paid by National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts on interim financing loans are: £85 million to date in 2017/18 (£54 million for trusts and £31 million for foundation trusts). £74 million in 2016/17 (£45 million for trusts and £29 million for foundation trusts) and £24 million in 2015/16 (£15 million for trusts and £9 million for foundation trusts). Prior to 2015/16, no interim loans were issued. The interest paid is not lost to the NHS. It is paid to the Department but is channelled back into the NHS through the annual funding provided to the NHS through the NHS England mandate.

Midwives: Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the attrition rate was for students on midwifery courses in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Stephen Barclay: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) analysis of Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) individualised student records provides non-continuation rates for midwives. HEFCE define non-continuation as students starting the first year of study but who do not to go on to study a second year. The table below shows the continuation rates for home students on midwifery degrees in English Higher Education Institutes between first and second year. This includes the latest available data from 2014-15, which shows a 93% continuation rate (so a 7% attrition rate). Continuing at same providerProfession2011-122012-132013-142014-15Midwifery91%91%92%93%Source: HESA Healthcare Indicators - produced for the Department by HEFCE The data for 2015/16 will be available in summer 2018.

NHS: Negligence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in how many medical negligence claims against the NHS which were settled in 2016-2017 legal proceedings were issued; and in how many such claims damage payments were made.

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical negligence claims against the NHS were taken to trial in 2016-2017; and in how many such trials damages were awarded.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Resolution manages clinical negligence claims brought against the National Health Service in England on behalf of organisations who are members of its risk pooling schemes, and has provided the following information: The following table shows the number of settled clinical negligence claims 2016-17: Where legal proceedings were issued4,251Where legal proceedings were issued and damages paid3,311Which were taken to trial83Which were taken to trial and damages were awarded43 The number of claims that were taken to trial in 2016-17 has been interpreted as the number of claims where the trial took place in 2016-17. This is different from the number in the table above which were settled in 2016-17 following a trial, since some of those claims may have gone to trial in an earlier year, although broadly the two groups overlap. This data is as follows: Clinical negligence claims taken to trial in 2016/1778Clinical negligence claims taken to trial in 2016/17 where damages were awarded36

Mentally Ill: Finance

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support people with mental health difficulties who experience financial difficulties.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We know that mental health services, including Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services, may signpost patients to debt advice services as part of their care. General practitioner (GP) practices would also signpost patients to debt advice services as part of their care and some practices have arrangements in place with local Citizens Advice Bureaux and debt advice services to provide outreach support in primary care. In January 2017, my Rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the Government would review the practice of GPs charging patients experiencing debt issues to complete Mental Health Evidence Forms when they require medical evidence for their creditors. The Department is working with the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and a range of stakeholders from the financial and debt advice sectors and the British Medical Association to undertake the review. The Government recognises the impact that debt may have on mental health and wellbeing and the difficulties that may be experienced by people with mental health problems in managing their debt. The review has also considered the impact of debt and financial difficulties on people with mental health problems, including the potential impact on recovery.

Ambulance Services: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of ambulance services in the West Midlands.

Stephen Barclay: Following the Ambulance Response Programme, ambulance services in England are currently adapting their operating models to optimise performance against the revised national performance framework and make the best use of resources in order to meet clinical need. A review of the impact of the new performance framework will be undertaken in the spring.

Prisons: Health Services

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2018 to Question 127288 on prisons: health services, in what format information on the funding of healthcare in prisons is held.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The NHS England Health and Justice budget covers many different types of services not just healthcare in prisons. The budget includes costs for Liaison and Diversion services, Sexual Assault Referral Centres, and some aspects of clinical commissioning groups and specialised commissioning funding. The costs for prison healthcare services are not separately identified within this budget. The total costs reported for Health and Justice since NHS England took over commissioning responsibility in 2013 are as follows: YearCosts in £ million2013/14429.92014/15449.52015/16483.02016/17509.0

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients by type of operation are currently on a waiting list for an operation at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Stephen Barclay: Information is not available in the format requested. The below table provides details of patients waiting for planned treatment at Wirral University Hospital by specialty. Treatment may not always result in an operation. Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times data by treatment function code at December 2017 (latest data available)Treatment Functions DescriptionTotal Waiting List18 Weeks or Under% of Patients Waiting Within 18 Weeks to Start Consultant Led TreatmentGeneral Surgery3,6572,61771.6%Urology1,5361,14274.3%Trauma and Orthopaedics2,2811,76477.3%Ears, Nose and Throat1,17691878.1%Ophthalmology2,6552,01475.9%Oral Surgery1,52392760.9%Neurosurgery00-Plastic Surgery00-Cardiothoracic Surgery00-General Medicine5480.0%Gastroenterology1,1661,03788.9%Cardiology95884388.0%Dermatology1,4871,28886.6%Thoracic Medicine86870180.8%Neurology00-Rheumatology33331093.1%Geriatric Medicine13412996.3%Gynaecology1,4151,20885.4%Other3,2912,56878.0%Total22,48517,47077.7%Source: NHS England, monthly RTT waiting times data

Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Medical Treatments

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the NICE appraisal of Spinraza for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence currently expects to issue final guidance on the use of nusinersen for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy in November 2018, with a first Appraisal Committee meeting to discuss the topic scheduled for 26 June 2018.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Medical Treatments

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress NHS England and Biogenon have made in discussions on a managed access agreement for the use of Spinraza for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.

Steve Brine: NHS England has advised that it is continuing discussions with Biogen and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence about the use of nusinersen (Spinraza) for the treatment of patients with spinal muscular atrophy.

Halton Hospital

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to make a decision on the allocation of funding for the proposed Health and Wellbeing campus at the Halton hospital site.

Stephen Barclay: The spring and autumn Budgets last year announced that over £2.9 billion of additional capital funding will be made available to support NHS Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in delivering improvements in their infrastructure to support transformation of services, support their ability to better meet demand for local services and drive efficiency improvements. Provisional funding for the first 37 successful schemes was announced in July and November 2017 and the Government expects to shortly be able to announce the next set of successful schemes from these which have applied for funding. The Halton Health and Wellbeing campus is one of the schemes being considered.

Phil Morely

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 24 February 2017 to Question 63667 and the Answer of 22 February 2018 to Question, on what date NHS Protect's investigation into Phil Morley began.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS Protect commenced their enquiries into this matter on 12 February 2015. The counter fraud functions of NHS Protect were taken over by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority on 1 November 2017.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timescale is for appointing a new chief officer to Halton Clinical Commissioning Group.

Steve Brine: Dr Andrew Davies was appointed as Chief Officer with an effective start date of 1 February 2018. This appointment has been made as a result of the interim Chief Officer’s move to a Sustainability and Transformation Partnership role. At present, this appointment is considered to be on an interim basis and does not have an end date.

Supported Housing: Inspections

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Care Quality Commission inspections of supported housing assess the extent to which providers (a) engage with wider communities living near supported housing, (b) encourage residents of supported housing to help their local community and (c) prevent drug use and alcohol abuse by supported housing residents.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following response: There is a legal requirement that providers must support ‘the autonomy, independence and involvement in the community of the service user.’ Engagement with local communities is an important topic that is assessed regardless of the kind of adult social care service the CQC inspects. The criteria the CQC uses when rating services places a strong emphasis on appropriate community engagement. When a person uses a service regulated by the CQC it is required, together with the person, to assess their strengths and needs, and to agree how the person will be supported and receive care. The CQC checks a sample of plans and experiences. Where a person’s needs and wishes included engagement with local volunteering opportunities we would expect providers to take steps to support this. However, this would only be relevant where a service provides housing related support or wider social care as well as the ‘personal care’ that is regulated by the CQC. Not all services provide wider social care or support. Regulated providers are required to assess people’s strengths and needs, and to ensure that these needs are met, or that appropriate agreed referrals to outside agencies are made, for example, to specialist drug and alcohol teams. Where a service cannot meet a person’s needs they are expected to liaise with health and social services professionals to discuss this. The CQC checks this during inspections.

Supported Housing: Inspections

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many inspections of supported housing providers have been carried out by the Care Quality Commission in each year since 2009-10, and how many of those inspections resulted in an overall rating of (a) good, (b) inadequate and (c) requires improvement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following response: The following table shows the number of supported living service inspections carried out by the CQC in each year since 2009-10:Financial YearNumber of Inspections Undertaken2010-11982011-126252012-131,4982013-141,6872014-156092015-167012016-179182017-18620Total6,756 Notes: Data includes inspections undertaken under the old approach (compliance/noncompliance) and the new approach (ratings). Also, data includes inspections not yet published. This includes both comprehensive and focussed inspections. Not all inspection will have resulted in a rating. As the inspections under the CQC’s old approach will not have resulted in a rating, the CQC is unable to give data on this for inspections pre-2014. Ratings of supported living services locations: Number of LocationsTotal Number of LocationsFinancial YearOutstandingGoodRequires improvementInadequate2014-15265254962015-165453126205982016-1718729167239192017-182445211918606Total461,485366621,755 Note: Some locations have had more than one published rating over the period with different outcomes and these locations are counted separately in each row/column. However, the totals shown are a unique count of these locations. This data also includes locations that are no longer active.

Supported Housing: Inspections

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many supported housing providers are registered with the Care Quality Commission; and how many of those providers have received an overall rating of (a) good, (b) inadequate and (c) requires improvement in their latest inspection.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) registers services under the service type ‘Supported Living Service’. The vast majority of these services are registered as adult social care services. The CQC does not collect data at provider level within adult social care and as such data at location level has been provided. The following table shows the number of registered Supported Living Service locations, broken down by latest rating: OutstandingGoodRequirements ImprovementInadequateNot yet ratedTotal421,19316294171,823

NHS: Sexual Offences

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of sexual assaults on NHS emergency workers in each of the last five years.

Stephen Barclay: National Health Service employers are responsible for the safety and welfare of their staff in accordance with health and safety legislation. The Department has not estimated the number of sexual assaults on NHS emergency workers in the last five years as these were not collected separately from other physical assaults, the last central collection for which was for 2015/16. The NHS Staff Survey also collects data on physical violence against those staff responding to the Survey but does not separate out sexual assaults. The Department is working with the NHS on a new data collection for violence against and abuse of NHS staff which should be introduced from 2019.

Mental Health Services: Restraint Techniques

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken since the broadcast of the C4 Dispatches investigation on 19 February 2018 to investigate whether any staff in mental health units have used violent restraint on patients in their care.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps he has taken since the broadcast of the C4 Dispatches programme of 19 February 2018 to ensure patient safety in all mental health units.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that (a) secure doors are fully functional, (b) access to areas containing pharmaceuticals are secure from patients and (c) staff have working personal alarms on their person at all times in (i) the Dene Hospital and (ii) other secure mental health hopsitals.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is aware of the concerns raised in the Channel 4 Dispatches programme aired on the 19 February 2018. The CQC is in regular communication with the Dene Hospital and the provider, the Priory Group. The CQC has placed the Dene Hospital on enhanced monitoring and will be bringing forward additional planned inspections. The provider is taking a number of steps to ensure these issues do not happen again and the CQC will be monitoring the implementation of these plans closely. In October 2017, NHS Improvement and the CQC launched a national mental health patient safety initiative. This is being supported by a national mental health quality improvement programme, led by NHS Improvement and informed by the CQC’s intelligence as part of a joint strategic objective to ensure a shared view of quality. All mental health providers will be involved in this initiative, which has an emphasis on shared learning and the embedding of sustainable quality improvement approaches which are integral to the way mental health services are delivered across the sector. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care also announced a ‘zero suicide’ ambition for mental health inpatients in January this year. This builds on the existing zero suicide ambition announced in 2015, which highlighted a number of best practice areas in Merseyside, East of England and South West which were taking forward innovative approaches to suicide reduction. The CQC’s inspection methodology for inpatient mental health services includes consideration of providers’ premises and processes to determine whether services are safe. This inspection methodology applies to all providers of secure mental health services, including the Dene Hospital.

Mental Health Service

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money his Department paid to the Priory Group for mental health services in each of the last seven years; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department does not directly fund any activities by the Priory Group. Core NHS England funding for the Group does not have 'mental health services' as a separate category. Clinical commissioning groups funding for the Groups is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has take to ensure that staff in acute situations with patients living with severe mental illness have (a) proper training and appropriate qualifications and (b) salaries commensurate with the specialist nature of the job.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Staff caring for patients with severe mental illness come from a wide variety of backgrounds and are employed within a large number of settings and by a large range of employers, including private clinics, local authorities, private individuals and families and the voluntary sector. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not regulate the salaries of healthcare staff, however, Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Cat 2008 (Regulated Activities) requires providers deploy suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. CQC guidance relating to Regulation 18 is as follows: The intention of this regulation is to make sure that providers deploy enough suitably qualified, competent and experienced staff to enable them to meet all other regulatory requirements described in that part of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. In order for providers to meet the requirements of Regulation 18, providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service at all times and the other regulatory requirements set out in this part of the regulations. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role and responsibilities. They should be supported to obtain further qualifications and provide evidence, where required, to the appropriate regulator to show that they meet the professional standards needed to continue to practise. Further information on Regulation 18 is available at the following link: http://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/regulations-enforcement/regulation-18-staffing#guidance In respect of nurses for patients living with severe mental illness, staff are placed in one of nine pay bands on the basis of the knowledge, responsibility, skills and effort needed. The roles are assessed through a job evaluation to ensure that salaries are commensurate with the nature of the role. Newly qualified mental health nurses will begin their career on band 5 and can then move up through band 6 and 7 as they achieve further responsibility and specialist knowledge. Nurses also receive additional payments for working unsocial hours and are eligible for High Cost Area Supplements if they work in inner and Greater London. Doctors specialising in mental illness, train in that specialty and currently an additional pay premium applies to them.

Attorney General

Sexual Offences: Females

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney General, how many women have been charged with assault by penetration since 2012 up to the most recent year for which data is available.

Robert Buckland: The total number of section 2 Sexual Offences Act 2003 (assault by penetration) offences charged against male and female defendants which reached a first hearing at the magistrates’ courts in England and Wales across the previous five financial years was as follows: Financial Year2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-17Number of Section 2 SOA 2003 offences1,1071,2661,4461,5712,004 Whilst defendant gender data is not recorded by the CPS in relation to the specific offence of assault by penetration, it does hold data in relation to the broader offence category of ‘sexual offences excluding rape’, which includes those offences. Of the 13,490 defendants prosecuted for sexual offences excluding rape in 2016-17, 13,022 defendants were male, 432 were female and the gender was not recorded for 36 defendants.

Attorney General: Sexual Offences

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney General, whether his Department plans to implement any of the recommendations of the report, Joint Serious Case Review Concerning Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adults with Needs for Care and Support in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, published by the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board and Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board.

Jeremy Wright: The Attorney General's Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Syria: Overseas Aid

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian aid her Department is providing in the Eastern Ghouta region of Syria.

Penny Mordaunt: Humanitarian access to Eastern Ghouta is severely constrained by the Assad regime. Where and when access allows, DFID’s humanitarian partners are providing health and nutrition, livelihoods and food security, winter clothing, clean water, and protection.The UK continues to press for full and sustained humanitarian access. We co-sponsored the UN Security Council resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire to enable humanitarian aid and medical evacuations, and call on all parties to the conflict to act now to ensure the ceasefire is implemented in full.

Gaza: Overseas Aid

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the Government is providing to Gaza in response to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' July 2017 call for the funding of essential services including health, water and sanitation.

Alistair Burt: The UK is providing £1.9 million to support the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Gaza urgent funding appeal. This is being delivered through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support critical water, sanitation and hygiene needs identified by the appeal. UK funding is helping to provide clean water and rehabilitate sanitation facilities to stop the spread of disease, benefitting approximately 1 million Gazans. We remain concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and are monitoring the situation closely including tracking the UN’s emergency indicators.

Charities: Sexual Offences

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many meetings (a) she and (b) officials of the Department have held with charities to discuss the sexual exploitation of women in the workplace.

Penny Mordaunt: Details of all external Ministerial meetings, including those with charities, are available in our transparency data on gov.uk. At official level, we regularly meet with partners and sexual exploitation and abuse is one of a number of issues that we raise.The International Development Secretary has written to every UK charity that receives UK aid insisting that they set out the steps they are taking to ensure their safeguarding policies are fully in place and confirm they have referred all concerns they have about specific cases and individuals to the relevant authorities by 26 February. We are currently reviewing these returns and shared the first findings at the Safeguarding Summit on 5 March.We have also established new Safeguarding Unit in DFID to urgently review safeguarding across all parts of the aid sector to ensure everything is being done to protect people from harm and we are hosting a safeguarding summit to bring together UK international development charities, regulatory bodies and independent experts to commit to drive up safeguarding standards and take bold steps to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse within charities and by staff abroad

Yemen: Cholera

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which projects her Department funds in Yemen to tackle cholera in that country.

Alistair Burt: DFID’s response to the cholera crisis in Yemen includes £8 million in targeted support to UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration, which is providing medical supplies to half a million people, safe access to chlorinated water to 300,000 people, and rehabilitating medical facilities used by 250,000 people. Other partners, including the Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund, to which the UK is contributing £40 million in 2017/8, are tackling cholera through providing medical treatment for vulnerable women and children, training health workers, and establishing oral rehydration centres. The UK was the largest 2017 donor, with a £76 million contribution, to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, which can be used to support emergency vaccination programmes, including in Yemen. Prevention is equally important – DFID is supporting chlorination campaigns in more than half the country’s governorates, as well as public awareness sessions on how the disease is spread. In addition, DFID’s overall funding of £205 million for Yemen this financial year is tackling the underlying causes of cholera by helping provide emergency food, nutrition support and clean water and sanitation to millions of people across the country.

Yemen: Overseas Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK aid to Yemen passes through the port of Hodeidah.

Alistair Burt: The UK is providing £205 million of aid support Yemen for the financial year 2017/8 that is focused on lifesaving humanitarian aid. Our partners use a variety of ports of entry into Yemen, depending on where need is greatest, the type of supply being imported, and the situation on the ground at the time. The northern ports of Hodeidah and Saleef play a critical role in importing 80% of Yemen’s humanitarian and commercial supplies, including food, fuel and medicine. For example, the UK has provided the World Food Programme (WFP) with £30 million to provide over 60,000 metric tons of food and 6.5 million litres of fuel to Yemen: 79% of these supplies will enter Yemen through the port of Hodeidah. The Secretary of State for International Development has been clear that all parties must allow full and unhindered access throughout Yemen, including through Hodeidah and Saleef ports.

Jordan: Refugees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support she is providing to the Government of Jordan to assist with accommodating Iraqi refugees.

Alistair Burt: The UK has committed £441 million to support Jordan since the start of the Syria crisis. To meet humanitarian needs the UK is supporting the provision of essential services such as health and water and sanitation, and, alongside humanitarian assistance providing support to job creation and education – helping to ensure that all children can access education regardless of nationality. UK assistance to all refugees and displaced persons is provided on the basis of need, irrespective of nationality. This is in line with international humanitarian principles, ensuring aid reaches the most vulnerable.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with Aid to the Church in Need on deliveries of food and aid to Christian and other communities in Syria.

Alistair Burt: Aid to the Church in Need is not a DFID partner in Syria, and we have no record of any discussions with them on the humanitarian response to the crisis in Syria.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Politics and Government

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the implementation of the Saint Sylvestre agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK continues to actively encourage the government of DRC and other political stakeholders to respect the constitution and fully implement the Saint Sylvestre accord. This is critical to a peaceful and democratic transfer of power and the peace and stability of the DRC. The UK is providing support to the electoral process with the intention of promoting democracy and protect fundamental freedoms in the DRC. The UK has committed over £18m in funding to support peaceful and credible elections since 2015. We are working with international partners and the Congolese authorities on the agreement and implementation of these activities.

Department for International Development: Counselling

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Department requires agencies delivering its programmes to ensure their staff have access to counselling for (a) post traumatic stress disorder and (b) other mental health needs.

Alistair Burt: DFID conducts due diligence to obtain a sufficient level of assurance of a potential delivery partner’s internal control framework, capacity and capability to deliver DFID programmes prior to entering into a formal agreement. DFID’s grant arrangements and contracts state that delivery partners are responsible for the health, safety and security of their staff.

Department for International Development: Voluntary Work

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to widen participation in her Department's volunteer programmes, particularly by people from low income backgrounds.

Harriett Baldwin: It is important that participants in DFID’s volunteering programmes are reflective of the UK population. We take active steps to ensure this happens. For example, we set and then monitor the performance of the International Citizen Service (ICS) programme on a quarterly basis against stringent volunteer targets related to gender, regional location, socio-economic background and disability.

Palestinians: Syria

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance is being made available to Palestinian refugees affected by the conflict in Syria.

Alistair Burt: The UK supports Palestinian refugees affected by the Syria crisis through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). As part of DFID’s Syria Crisis Response, between 2012/13 and 2017/18 we have provided £92.35 million to UNRWA to support Palestinian refugees affected by the Syrian conflict; including those inside Syria, as well as those who have fled to Jordan and Lebanon. This includes £12.6 million in 2017/18 to provide support for 418,000 Palestinian refugees inside Syria with cash and in-kind food assistance alongside support in the areas of health, livelihoods, education and protection assistance.

Department for Education

Schools: Counselling

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure the provision of trained counsellors in all schools and colleges that do not offer a trained counsellor through projects piloted under the proposals in Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether schools and colleges will be expected to employ a trained counsellor in the Mental Health Support Teams proposed in Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper; what the proposed structure of core professionals to be included in teams is; what training will be provided for Mental Health Support teams; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Government believes that schools are best placed to make decisions on the most appropriate support for their pupils, and is aware that many schools provide a valued counselling service. To support more schools to do so the Government has provided advice on how to deliver high quality school-based counselling.  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.New Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) will not replace the service that school-based counselling provides but will increase the support available to schools and their pupils who have emerging mental health problems. The Government is consulting on the structure of MHSTs, and will test different models for their implementation through the trailblazers programme.The green paper proposed additional funding for the new professionals in the MHSTs to be trained in evidence-based interventions, supervised by expert clinicians. The Government’s response to the green paper consultation will provide further information on the trailblazer programme, and on the training that will be provided to MHSTs.

Supply Teachers: Training

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) extent of the provision of safeguarding training provided by supply teacher agencies in the UK.

Nick Gibb: Schools are responsible for ensuring that all staff, including supply staff, are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ statutory safeguarding guidance makes clear that all staff should read ‘Part One - Safeguarding information for all staff at induction’. It also requests that governing bodies/proprietors ensure that mechanisms are in place to support staff to understand and discharge their role and responsibilities as set out in Part One. The guidance states that all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection training at induction. Before placing a member of staff a supply agency must request sufficient information, including the experience, references, training, and qualifications the school needs for the post or that are required by law. To help schools achieve best value when using supply agencies the Department is working with the Crown Commercial Service to develop a commercial framework for agency supply teachers. Together with other requirements the framework will ensure that agencies adhere to standard levels of practice. The framework is expected to be available for schools to use from September 2018.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference his Department's publication, Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England 2016 to 2017: statistical release SFR01/2018, published on 25 January 2018, if he will publish the average Progress 8 scores in 2017 for pupils receiving free school meals at non-selective schools in highly selective areas.

Nick Gibb: The average Progress 8 scores[1] in 2017 for pupils receiving free school meals at the end of Key Stage 4 by school admission basis in England for academic year 2016/17 are publicly available. The latest statistics, for 2016-2017, are available in Table CH3b of the ‘Characteristics national tables’ in the statistical first release ‘Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England 2016 to 2017’, which was published in 25 January 2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2016-to-2017.[1] Progress 8 compares pupils’ achievement (their Attainment 8 score) with the average Attainment 8 score of all pupils nationally who had a similar starting point (based on their assessment results from the end of primary school). Progress 8 is a relative measure; therefore, the national average Progress 8 score for mainstream schools is very close to zero. When including pupils at special schools the national average is not zero as Progress 8 scores for special schools are calculated using Attainment 8 estimates based on pupils in mainstream schools. Progress 8 scores are estimates and the confidence intervals provide the likely bounds of the true score. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-8-school-performance-measure.

Apprentices: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship places are available in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, (b) Bexley Borough and (c) London.

Anne Milton: Vacancies are advertised on the ‘Find an apprenticeship’ service website: https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch.The table below provides the number of apprenticeship vacancies on this website in February this year. As not all vacancies are advertised through this system, they may not be indicative of all the places available.Apprenticeship vacancies postedGeographical breakdownNumberBexleyheath and Crayford50Bexley100London3,540  Notes:1) Figures are from ‘Find an apprenticeship’ service and may not be indicative of the true level of vacancies available.2) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.We published the attached number of apprenticeship starts for each academic year with these breakdowns in the ‘FE data library: further education and skills’:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills.



Apprenticeship starts by academic year
(Word Document, 24.03 KB)

Carillion

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of apprentices employed by Carillion who are yet to find alternative apprenticeship provision.

Anne Milton: The government’s priority is to minimise disruption to apprentices’ and is intent on finding new employers for the apprentices that affected by the liquidation of Carillion. The remaining apprentices who are yet to be placed, fall into one of three cohorts.There are approximately 125 apprentices actively engaged in the matching / interview process. There are approximately 180 apprentices who have now achieved their apprenticeship or have left during the transition to Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).225 apprentices have received multiple communications, however they have chosen not to respond. They have been issued with a final letter, which states that if they do not engage, CITB will notify PwC that they are not seeking alternative provision or employment. CITB have recently launched a targeted employer campaign, with an intent to secure employment placements for learners who we’ve been unable to yet match with employment during the process, due to their geographical area of learning. This has resulted in an increasing number of employer vacancies, which CITB are actively pursuing in order to place more apprentices. On Monday 5 March, the Official Receiver published a web update on employment within the Carillion group, which can be found at: https:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/carillion-official-receivers-update--3.

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's report of December 2017, Careers strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents, if he will provide funding for all schools to appoint a named Careers Leader to lead a careers programme.

Anne Milton: We published statutory guidance in January 2018 that set out the expectation for all schools to appoint a named Careers Leader from September 2018 to lead their careers programme. The government’s careers strategy includes £4 million of new funding to support 500 schools and colleges in areas of the country that require additional support to train their Careers Leaders. The training will be piloted in the 2018/19 academic year before considering whether to offer this provision more widely. The Careers & Enterprise Company will be publishing a Careers Leaders guide for all secondary schools. This will explain what a Careers Leader is and provides advice for schools on how best to identify someone for the role. The guide will include key principles and suggestions for developing the role as well as practical case studies of Careers Leaders already working in schools.

Care Homes: Children

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children's residential care staff in England are not social work qualified; and what plans he has for Social Work England to register chilldren's residential care staff.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is not held centrally.Social Work England will be responsible for registering all individuals who are qualified to practise as social workers in England. This will include social workers working in residential child care settings. Social Work England will not register children’s residential care staff who are not qualified social workers.

Secure Accommodation

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2018 to Question 125962, what the most up-to-date information is which his Department holds on (a) the number of secure accommodation places for children in England, (b) the capacity of those places and (c) the number of vacancies in those places.

Nadhim Zahawi: The most up-to-date reliable national statistics that the department holds on (a) the number of secure accommodation places for children in England, (b) the capacity of those places and (c) the number of vacancies in those places was released on 31 March 2017.This information was published in the statistical first release ‘Children accommodated in secure children's homes: 31 March 2017’ (SFR23/2017), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-accommodated-in-secure-childrens-homes-31-march-2017. However, the publication does not contain information on the number of vacancies in the secure children’s homes, hence vacancies have been defined as the difference between capacity and the number of children in available places.The publication gives an annual snapshot of the status of secure children's homes in England and Wales at 31 March 2017. Similar information relating to the position as at 31 March 2018 will be published in June 2018.

Secure Accommodation: Scotland

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children looked after by local authorities in England have been detained in secure accommodation in Scotland in each of the last 24 months.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of children looked after by local authorities in England who were in an open secure unit placement in Scotland for each month in the last two years for which data is available are shown in the attached table.



Looked after children in secure units in Scotland
(Word Document, 23.43 KB)

Schools: Counselling

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of counselling services provided in schools in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Government's nationally representative survey ‘Supporting mental health in schools and colleges’ showed that 61% of schools and colleges in England already provide counselling services, including 84% of state secondary schools, and 56% of state primary schools. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-mental-health-in-schools-and-colleges.To support more schools to provide counselling the Government has published a blueprint for school counselling services. This provides practical, evidence-based advice on how to deliver high quality school-based counselling to all pupils. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.

Schools: Admissions

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 128396, on Schools: Admissions, for what reason the Department exceeded the 12-week guideline on responding to consultations in the case of the Schools that work for everyone consultation; whether the Government plans to update that 12-week guideline; and for what reason the Department did not provide complete answers to the questions on (a) when the Department plans to respond to that consultation and (b) for what reason the Department has not yet responded to that consultation.

Nick Gibb: As set out in the response to the hon. Member for Birmingham Hall Green’s question of 19 February, the department has been considering the responses to the proposals set out in the ‘Schools that Work for Everyone’ consultation, and we will be responding to the consultation in due course.

Children's Centres

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2017 to Question 118701, on children’s centres, what role he plans for children’s centres to have in delivering his Department’s social mobility action plan.

Nadhim Zahawi: I refer the hon. Member for Batley and Spen to the answer given by the former Minister for Children and Families, (Robert Goodwill), my hon. Friend for Scarborough & Whitby, on 19 December 2017 to Question 118701. Further details will be available in due course.

What Works Network: Contracts

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what monitoring arrangements there are for the contracts given to (a) the NESTA consortium and (b) Cardiff University in relation to the What Works Centre.

Nadhim Zahawi: Both contracts with NESTA and Cardiff University are monitored through the following mechanisms: A joint weekly meeting to review progress, deliverables, risks and budgets as well as agreeing priorities for the week ahead. The Department for Education’s (DfE) What Works Centre (WWC) management team lead the meeting.A joint monthly contract and finance review against key performance indicators. DfE WWC management team lead this meeting.A WWC steering group comprising the Chief Social Worker and senior DfE officials, (and by invitation, sector experts, where applicable to the issues arising) meets monthly.Key decisions are presented to a strategy board comprising senior DfE officials and chaired by Indra Morris, Director General for Social Care, Mobility and Equalities.

Pre-school Education: Assessments

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason observational assessment is not part of the assessment criteria for the incoming early years baseline assessment.

Nadhim Zahawi: The early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) assessment is observational and gives a picture of each child’s development over the early years foundation stage. Observational assessment over longer periods of time is crucial to support effective teaching and learning, which is why it remains a vital part of the EYFSP.The reception baseline assessment, however, has a different purpose. It will enable schools to focus on the progress made by each year group through all of their time at primary school from reception to the end of key stage 2. For this purpose, we require assessment data that correlates with key stage 2 assessment data and which can determine pupils’ differing starting points so that consistent like-for-like comparisons can be made. To achieve this, observational assessments would represent a greater burden for teachers due to the significant additional moderation requirements to provide the consistent baseline for comparing school-level progress nationally.

Special Educational Needs: Internet

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for how long the e-forum for SENCOs was unavailable; and what steps he is taking to ensure that that e-forum remains fully operational after its recent recovery.

Nadhim Zahawi: The system which hosts the SENCO Forum initially stopped functioning on 18 November 2017. It was partially restored on 8 December 2017 but not all members had access to it. It subsequently failed again on 21 December 2017 and was back up and fully operational on 9 February 2018.We will continue to work closely with the Chair of the Forum to secure the future of the SENCO Forum and ensure it is accessible to its users.

Pre-school Education: Assessments

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether (a) he, (b) his predecessor, (c) current or former Ministers of his Department and (d) officials of his Department held meetings with contractors who had been encouraged to apply to carry out work relating to the incoming early years baseline assessment in which that assessment was discussed and before details of the contracts were made public.

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to include the performance management of teachers in the early years baseline assessment.

Nadhim Zahawi: The procurement for the reception baseline assessment has followed all due commercial procedure. As such, no current or previous Secretary of State, Minister or Department official has held meetings with contractors in which details of the reception baseline assessment were discussed or in which contractors were encouraged to apply for this work before the specification and contract were made public. The Department for Education does not plan to include the performance management of teachers in the reception baseline assessment.

Free School Meals

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to introduce a tapered income for entitlement to free school meals under universal credit in order to incentivise being in employment.

Nadhim Zahawi: Our new criteria for free school meals eligibility will set an annual earned income threshold of £7,400 for families in receipt of Universal Credit. This will, depending on a family’s exact circumstances, typically equate to an annual household income of between £18,000 and £24,000 when benefits are taken into account.Establishing an earnings threshold for free school meals eligibility gives us a clear and practical system for schools and local authorities to deliver, and our Eligibility Checking System will make the checks simple and straightforward. We do not have any plans to introduce tapered eligibility criteria for free school meals. Such an option would add complexity for families and increase the administrative burden on schools and local authorities.

Home Education

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of safeguarding checks that are in place for home schooled children.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of whether there is an attainment gap between home schooled children and children in formal education.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulations that are in place to protect home schooled children from abuse, extremism and radicalisation.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what regulations are in place to ensure that parents are suitably qualified to teach their home schooled children.

Anne Milton: The safeguarding powers and duties of local authorities apply to all children resident in their area, whether educated at home or at school. Consequently, there are no provisions on safeguarding, either generally or concerning specific issues such as abuse, extremism and radicalisation that only relate to children educated at home. If there is a genuine safeguarding concern about a child educated at home, the local authority may use its powers under the Children Act 1989 to investigate. In other cases, local authorities are encouraged to use alternative sources of information about children who may be educated at home – for example, referrals from the health services – in order to address the fact that the child is not being seen regularly by school staff. Data on numbers and ages of home-educated children, their examination pass rates and their special educational needs, are not collected. Consequently, no assessment has been made by the department of whether there is an attainment gap between home-educated children and those attending school. There are no requirements for the parents of children educated at home to have particular qualifications. In any assessment made of the suitability of home education, the local authority concerned looks at the education received and the progress made by the child, not the qualifications of those delivering it, whether they be parents or others engaged for the purpose. The department will shortly be holding a consultation exercise on revised guidance for local authorities on the most effective use of their powers in relation to home education.

Students: Loans

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2018 to Question 128612, whether the proposed Sharia-compliant alternative student finance product will be available for students applying for university in the 2018-19 academic year.

Mr Sam Gyimah: As previously stated, we are currently working with Islamic Finance experts to design an alternative product that meets Islamic financial principles while delivering an equivalent outcome to the main student loan system. This work is complex and we will provide an update and a timetable in the summer. It can typically take two years to introduce a new student finance product, which would rule out launching for Academic Year 2018/19.

Higher Education: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of school leavers have participated in higher education in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The table attached shows the proportion of students that were at the end of their 16-18 studies (and taking A level or other level 3 qualifications) in West Midlands and Coventry and progressed to study at a UK Higher Education Institution for at least two terms in a given academic year. Students in state-funded mainstream schools and colleges are included. Information on destinations in academic years 2010-11 to 2015-16 is given and destinations data for all England is provided for comparison. This is the most recent data available.Data on higher education destinations of key stage 4 pupils are not included. Less than 1% of pupils who were at the end of key stage 4 in a given year progress into sustained education in higher education institutions.Information on pupil destinations is published annually on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations.



Students that progressed to HEIs after 16-18 study
(Word Document, 25.83 KB)

Free Schools: Costs

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department next plans to publish information on the capital costs of individual free schools.

Nick Gibb: Capital funding for individual open free schools, university technical colleges (UTCs) and studio schools, where costs have been finalised, and are no longer commercially sensitive, are published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-funding-for-open-free-schools. Additional finalised capital costs for individual open free schools, UTCs and studio schools, are due to be published in the coming months.

Route 39 Academy Bideford

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of the capital funding his Department provided for the Route 39 free school in North Devon.

Nick Gibb: Capital funding for open free schools, university technical colleges and studios schools, where costs have been finalised, are published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-funding-for-open-free-schools. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, the capital costs of individual schools are not disclosed before completion and overall costs are finalised. The site was acquired for £3 million, but final overall capital costs are yet to be finalised. Completion for Route 39 will be in August 2018 and the costs for the school will be published after this. Additional finalised capital costs are due to be published in the coming months.

Apprentices: Disadvantaged

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the £60 million allocated in the Industrial Strategy White Paper to support apprenticeship take up by young people and poorer families from disadvantaged areas will be used.

Anne Milton: We want to make sure apprenticeships are accessible to under-represented groups so that more people can benefit from the increased wage and employment prospects that apprenticeships can offer. The department distributes additional funding to support individuals from disadvantaged areas. We provide payments of £200, £300 or £600 to providers for training apprentices who live in the top 27 per cent of deprived areas. The payment amount is determined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Further information about these payments is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/562401/Apprenticeship_funding_from_May_2017.pdf.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to begin collecting information on the proportion of children accessing 30 hours of free childcare from (a) single and (b) two parent households.

Nadhim Zahawi: Work is ongoing to strengthen Childcare Service management information so this information may be available in the future.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money was spent from the public purse on (a) hotels and (b) other expenses for prison officers on detached duty in each month from January to June 2016.

Rory Stewart: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 01 March 2018.The correct answer should have been:

Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Rory Stewart: Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money was spent from the public purse on (a) hotels and (b) other expenses for prison officers on detached duty in each month from July to December 2016.

Rory Stewart: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 01 March 2018.The correct answer should have been:

Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Rory Stewart: Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money was spent from the public purse on (a) hotels and (b) other expenses for prison officers on detached duty in each month from January to June 2015.

Rory Stewart: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 01 March 2018.The correct answer should have been:

Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Rory Stewart: Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money was spent from the public purse on (a) hotels and (b) other expenses for prison officers on detached duty in each month from July to December 2015.

Rory Stewart: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 01 March 2018.The correct answer should have been:

Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Rory Stewart: Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money was spent from the public purse on (a) hotels and (b) other expenses for prison officers on detached duty in each month from January to June 2014.

Rory Stewart: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 01 March 2018.The correct answer should have been:

Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Rory Stewart: Prison officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. Good progress is being made to hit this target, with 1,970 additional officers recruited by 31st December 2017. These new staff will reduce the need for Detached Duty. When there is a need to accommodate staff in hotels, we work hard to ensure the best possible value for money for the taxpayer and have controls in place to help keep costs to a minimum. Where possible, bookings are for specifically timed trains and always in standard class to help keep costs to a minimum. We are able to provide data on hotels and rail bookings made through Redfern Travel Ltd only. Please see table attached for data from 2013 – 2017.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.27 KB)

Prison Service: Staff

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff were deployed on detached duty in each month of 2016.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff were deployed on detached duty in each month of 2015.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff were deployed on detached duty in each month of 2014.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff were deployed on detached duty in each month of 2013.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff were deployed on detached duty in each month of 2012.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff were deployed on detached duty in each month of 2011.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff were deployed on detached duty in each month of 2010.

Rory Stewart: The average number of prison staff deployed on DD each month (4 week average) over the period for which records are held of national detached duty is shown in the table below. The records show there has been a reduction in use of detached duty since 2014.Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons and respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. MonthAverage number of Officers deployed on DD2014 Aug242Sep242Oct244Nov253Dec2532015Jan254Feb254Mar217Apr194May268Jun269Jul250Aug201Sep195Oct191Nov179Dec1922016Jan178Feb188Mar168Apr170May175June164Jul188Aug201Sep199Oct169Nov141Dec160

Personal Injury: Compensation

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the personal injury discount rate on average motor insurance premiums.

Rory Stewart: The Government has not made an estimate of the overall impact on the insurance industry of the change to the discount rate in March 2017. However, in September 2017, PwC stated insurers had passed on roughly half of the expected costs resulting from the change in the rate with premiums for policies rising by about £75 on average and about £250 for young drivers.

Government Departments: Procurement

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2018 to Question 127748, on Amey and Carillion, how many times repayments were made by a contractor to the Department when a defect of contract was identified in the financial year 2016-17.

Rory Stewart: The Department doesn’t record how many times repayments were made by a contractor to the Department when a defect of contract was identified. Following a defect additional costs are incurred by the contractor to remedy the defect without any additional charge to the Department. In the majority of cases Amey and Carillion correct the defect in accordance with the contract and therefore no repayment amount is due. For the duration of their contracts, Carillion have incurred £4,057,543 in Financial Remedies and Amey have incurred £2,176,592 in financial remedies. Financial remedies are imposed under the agreed Payment Mechanism System when the Key Performance Scores are below the required level.

Parc Young Offender Institution: Internet

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of occasions children in HM Young Offenders Institute Parc have used Skype to make contact with friends and family in each month since the Skype facility was introduced.

Dr Phillip Lee: Information requested on the number of occasion’s young people in Parc YOI have used Skype to make contact with friends and family is not currently held centrally by the Youth Custody Service (YCS).

Domestic Violence: Reoffenders

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what types of specific domestic violence perpetrator programmes are available in prisons for men convicted of crimes involving physical violence against their partner or ex-partner to prevent those offenders from re-offending.

Dr Phillip Lee: We are committed to reducing reoffending and addressing the needs of those individuals convicted of an offence involving Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). We keep treatment programmes under constant review to reduce reoffending and protect the public. Individuals convicted of an offence involving IPV will be assessed for suitability to participate in programmes based on the principles of risk, need and responsivity. Programmes will be offered to individuals on the basis that they meet the selection criteria, and that participating in a programme can support them to reduce their risk of recidivism. The accredited programmes available for those men convicted of an offence involving IPV are:Building Better Relationships (BBR)Healthy Relationships Programme (HRP)Kaizen (IPV Strand)Specialist programmes for men with learning disabilities are also available.

Domestic Violence: Reoffenders

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on rates of re-offending of programmes aimed at perpetrators of domestic violence who are serving prison sentences.

Dr Phillip Lee: Tackling domestic violence and abuse is a key priority for this Government. The programme for men convicted of domestic violence replaces and builds on the success of two programmes that achieved a 13 per cent reduction in overall reoffending of participants. The current programme is designed in line with the latest international evidence of the most effective way to tackle reoffending in domestic violence cases, and has been accredited by a panel of independent, international experts. An evaluation of its effectiveness is planned.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what programmes are provided in prisons to prevent men convicted of rape from re-offending.

Rory Stewart: The accredited programmes available in prison for those men convicted of a sexual offence with an element of rape are:HorizonKaizen (Sexual Offence Strand)Healthy Sex Programme (HSP)Specialist programmes for men with learning disabilities are also available. Programmes will be offered to individuals on the basis that they meet the selection criteria, and that participating in a programme can support them to reduce their risk of recidivism.

Prisoners' Release: Rape

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment tools and processes are used to assess the risk presented by men convicted of rape when due for release from prison.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria are used to assess the future risk of sexual offending by men convicted of rape when due for release from prison.

Rory Stewart: Evidence-based tools are used to assess the risk presented by men who have been convicted of rape. These include statistically- derived measures which indicate the risk of reconviction for a sexual offence and more individualised assessments of the relevant risk which the offender presents and any “protective factors” which will help mitigate those risks. The assessment of risk will include the extent to which offenders can demonstrate insight into their motivations for offending and their ability to manage future risk. Using these various assessments, a probation offender manager, working closely with local police under the statutory Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), will draw up a risk management plan, to supervise the offender on release and so protect the public. For offenders who are not released automatically, the Parole Board may direct release of a prisoner only if it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should remain detained. When making its decision, the Parole Board will consider all evidence presented to it and take into account the nature of the index offence, the prisoner’s offending history, the prisoner’s progress in prison, any statement made by the victim(s), reports by offender managers and prison officers, and all risk assessments provided. Before release is directed, the Parole Board will also satisfy itself that a comprehensive resettlement and risk management plan is in place.

Prisoners: Sexual Offences

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the level of unmet need for specialist programmes to address sexual offending for men convicted of sexual violence who are serving sentences in prison; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: We are absolutely committed to reducing reoffending and addressing the needs of those individuals convicted of a sexual offence. A range of accredited programmes are available in custody for men who have been convicted of a sexual offence. Individual suitability for each of these programmes depends on the risk, need and responsivity of the individual. This is assessed locally in each establishment and individuals assessed as suitable and ready to engage with the programmes. Places are prioritised according to the individual’s tariff expiry or release date.  We continue to make every effort to maintain investment in sex offender treatment programmes and commission against offender need. Adjustments to the volume and type of sex offender treatment programmes delivered are agreed (between providers and commissioners) where evidence indicates a change in need.

Alternatives to Prison

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of (a) community sentences and (b) suspended prison sentences included a Mental Health Treatment Requirement in each year since 2010.

Dr Phillip Lee: The table below shows the proportion of offenders starting (a) community orders or (b) suspended sentence orders under probation supervision in each year since 2010 where a mental health treatment requirement (MHTR) was attached to the order. These figures cover both England and Wales. Community orderSuspended sentence orderYear 20100.6%0.5%20110.5%0.5%20120.5%0.4%20130.6%0.5%20140.7%0.6%20150.5%0.5%20160.4%0.6% Working with the Department for Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England, we are developing a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement ‘Protocol’ that will set out what is expected from all agencies involved and improve access to mental health and substance misuse services for offenders who need them. This includes a new maximum waiting time for court ordered treatment which is in line with waiting times for the general population. It also includes a new single point of contact within local mental health and substance misuse services. We are going to test the Protocol in a number of areas to make sure that it works and offers people the right support to end the cycle of reoffending. Health is a devolved matter in Wales. The goal to improve the use of MHTRs there is captured in the Welsh Government’s “Together for Mental Health” delivery plan.

Solicitors: Regulation

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support his Department provides to people who have received incorrect legal advice from a solicitor who subsequently absconds from the UK jurisdiction.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Justice: Public Expenditure

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the effect of planned reductions in his Department’s total budget on (a) reoffending levels and  (b) access to justice.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice’s funding from HM Treasury was reported at Spending Review 2015 to fall by 15% between 2015/16 and 2019/20. Taking into account additional resource funding agreed at the Autumn Statement 2016 for prison safety and wider reform, MoJ’s funding in real terms will reduce by 11% between 2015/16 and 2019/20. On (a) reoffending levels, in 2010 the NAO estimated the cost of re-offending is £9-13bn, equivalent to up to £15bn in current prices, and remains stubbornly difficult to reduce. The Government is delivering more with less through reforms to the prison system including an offender employment and education strategy and an offender accommodation strategy. On (b) access to justice, we are committed to ensuring that the justice system is accessible to our users, and we are investing over £1bn to transform the courts and tribunal system which will include introducing modern technology, online services and digital working.

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the effectiveness of outsourcing maintenance works in prisons.

Rory Stewart: I refer the honorable member to the answers given to PQs 123262 and 123441 answered on 25 January 2018 regarding the effectiveness of prison maintenance services. An independent review of the service was undertaken in early 2017, which was used to support several improvement initiatives. We are currently working with our suppliers, including Gov Facility Services Limited, to continue the provision of prison maintenance services to ensure our prisons remain a safe, secure and decent environment.

Prison Accommodation

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of prison conditions.

Rory Stewart: We will only transform our prisons into places of rehabilitation if we ensure that we address basic issues such as cleanliness, decent conditions and safety. The issues in our jails will not be resolved overnight, but the work we are doing to improve the quality of prison accommodation and the investment of £100m to bring in an additional 2,500 frontline prison officers are a key part of our strategy to transform our prisons. We will also modernise our prison estate, closing older prisons that are not fit for purpose releasing them for housing and creating in their place high-quality, rehabilitative establishments. We will simplify the organisation of the prison estate gradually into three key functions: reception, training and resettlement. This will improve safety and access to appropriate services for offenders.

Prisons: Mental Health Services

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of mental health services provision in prisons.

Dr Phillip Lee: We take mental health provision very seriously and are committed to working closely with health partners to ensure that offenders are able to access the treatment and support required for their mental health needs. We recognise the importance of the prison environment on enabling better health outcomes. We are ensuring that each prisoner has a dedicated prison officer to support them and are implementing reforms to give all prisoners a key worker. This will help ensure that prisoners are better supported to attend scheduled health and mental health appointments and assessments to support their recovery. This will also ensure that a dedicated officer will be able to build a relationship with them and be in a better position to respond to changes in their behaviour or their mental well-being. Health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England who are responsible for making assessments of the current provision of mental health assessments and treatment in the prison systems in England. In Wales health is devolved to the Welsh Government where separate arrangements are made for assessment. We are committed to working closely with our health partners in England and Wales to support them with these responsibilities.

Prison Sentences

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of sentences below three months in reducing reoffending.

Rory Stewart: The decision to impose a custodial sentence of any length is for the court in the individual case, following the law and sentencing guidelines. There will be cases where the court decides a short custodial sentence is the only sentence that is appropriate, for example, where the offender displays a pattern of re-offending. In response to the high reoffending rates of offenders, changes introduced in the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 ensure that offenders given short sentences now receive supervision and support on release for a period of twelve months. We are monitoring the effect that those provisions have on reoffending rates.

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest length of time a prison officer spent on detached duty was in 2017.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the highest number of days of detached duty served by a prison officer was in 2017.

Rory Stewart: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Carillion

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2018 to Question 125736, what was the value was of each of those subcontracted contract; how performance was measured under each of those subcontracts; and by what mechanism his Department had oversight of each of those subcontracts.

Rory Stewart: The financial values of the subcontracts detailed in Question 125736 cannot be provided as they are commercially sensitive.The performance of Amey is measured by the Department through a suite of key performance indicators and other management information. The Department can therefore deduce subcontractor performance from this information, however the Department would always escalate any performance deficiency with Amey in the first instance.Amey is required to obtain written consent from the Department prior to entering into any subcontract for the delivery of services under this contract.

Prisoners: Speech and Language Disorders

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incarcerated (a) children (b) 18-21 year olds and (c) 22- 25 year olds were recorded as having speech, language and communication needs in the last year for which the information is available.

Dr Phillip Lee: We do not collect this data centrally.

Prisoners: Females

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women are serving sentences in prison for each (a) offence category used in his Department's offender management statistics and (b) Home Office offence code where appropriate.

Dr Phillip Lee: The number of women serving a sentence of immediate custody as at 31 December 2017, by offence group, can be viewed in Table 1.2b here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/676246/prison-population-q4-2017.xlsx The number of women under an immediate custodial sentence as at 30 June 2017, by some of the Home Office offence codes can be viewed in Table A1.5i here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/633160/population-2017.xlsx We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation. That is why we plan to set out a strategy for female offenders, to improve outcomes and services for women in both the community and custody.

Ministry of Justice: G4S

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to question 127068, how much of those financial remedies incurred by G4S was in relation to each contract that company has held with his Department; and for what reasons each such financial remedy was imposed.

Rory Stewart: The attached table details the total value of financial remedy imposed against each contract for each financial year. Financial remedies are imposed under the agreed Payment Mechanism System when the Key Performance Scores are below the required level.Private providers performance is closely monitored by the Ministry of Justice and we will not hesitate to act where standards fall short. It is important to recognise that providers achieve the majority of their contractual targets.  



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.08 KB)

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2018 to Question 126350, whether prison governors will be empowered to bring prison maintenance back in house.

Rory Stewart: We will only transform our prisons into places of rehabilitation if we ensure that we address basic issues such as cleanliness, decent conditions and safety. The issues in our jails will not be resolved overnight, but the work we are doing to improve the quality of prison accommodation and the investment of £100m to bring in an additional 2,500 frontline prison officers are a key part of our strategy to transform our prisons.Our facilities management providers, Amey and Gov Facility Services Ltd, play an important role in achieving this. As I have stated in my answers to Questions 125140 and 126350, we will continue to work with both, as well as with prison governors, to secure the improvements required.

Brixton Prison: Church Services

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether services according to the rites of the Church of England are held at HMP Brixton; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: Every prison establishment, including HMP Brixton, has an Anglican chaplain and offenders are able to attend services in accordance with the rites of the Church of England. We recognise the importance of faith and the positive impact that it can have on the lives of offenders, which is why there are multi-faith chaplaincy teams in every prison.

Courts: ICT

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money was spent on digital court services in each of the last three years; and what that funding was used for.

Lucy Frazer: In the last 3 complete financial years the amounts spent on Information Technology and Telecommunications were:  Total 16/17 £000Total 15/16 £000Total 14/15 £000IT services136,248111,426106,842 These figures cover spend across the whole of the HMCTS organisation, including courts, tribunals, contact centres and headquarters. The figures also include a recharge from the Ministry of Justice for corporate IT and Telecommunications services consumed by HMCTS.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Trade Unions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what percentage of workers employed directly by his Department belonged to a trade union in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Jake Berry: The Department does not have a complete set of data for this information as we are not notified of individuals who may choose to pay their trade union membership via direct debit and as such is unable to answer your question.

Children: Disadvantaged

Alex Burghart: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of families on the Troubled Families Programme had one or more children who were categorised as Children in Need in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Rishi Sunak: We track the characteristics of families on the Troubled Families Programme through our National Impact Study, which uses national administrative datasets. In our latest dataset 43.9 per cent of the 79,616 families for whom we have linked data had at least one child categorised as a Child in Need.This means that children in families on the programme were eleven times more likely to be classified as a Child in Need than those in the general population. The latest Children in Need data we have access to is for families who joined the programme before the end of March 2016, and so our results are subject to time lags.

Local Government Finance: Council Tax

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the local government budget came from council tax in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Rishi Sunak: Detailed revenue financing data from all local authorities in England are published each year on the Department's website at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2017 to Question 127316 on High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention, what the Government's definition is of limited combustibility.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Solar Power: Non-domestic Rates

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that non-commercial rooftop solar cells and storage installed on public buildings are not charged business rates.

Rishi Sunak: Plant and machinery used to provide services within a property, such as solar power, is normally included in the business rates assessment. This is an established principle in the business rates system and ensures that all buildings are assessed as including the services they need for their use. In contrast, most plant and machinery used in a trade process is not rateable.The government has put in place a £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme for England to support ratepayers, including those with solar cells, at the 2017 revaluation. We do not believe it would be appropriate to provide additional support for public buildings.

Housing: Greater London

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effect on house-building in London of surrendering £65m for the London settlement in 2017-18.

Dominic Raab: The £65 million surrendered was from a loan-funding programme devolved to the Greater London Authority (GLA), which ends in March 2018. This money was not fully spent by the GLA, under the leadership of the London mayor, so was returned. For comparison, in 2009/10 £144 million for housing and a potential £122 million on regeneration went unspent.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Sexual Offences

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to implement any of the recommendations of the report, Joint Serious Case Review Concerning Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adults with Needs for Care and Support in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, published by the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board and Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board.

Rishi Sunak: Child sexual exploitation is abhorrent and the crimes perpetrated in Newcastle have had a devastating impact on the lives of the victims. The Government acknowledges the seriousness of the issues raised in this serious case review and is committed to improving the national response to tackling sexual exploitation.We have already taken significant action to tackle this issue. In February 2017, the Government published its Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: Progress Report and announced a £40 million package of measures to protect children and young people from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking, and to crack down on offenders. This included £7.5 million for a new, ground-breaking Centre of Expertise that will identify, generate, and share high quality evidence of what works to prevent and tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. The recommendations of the review cover a wide range of issues, which we will consider carefully in the context of this existing programme of work.

Social Rented Housing: Standards

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has set a target date for all council and housing association homes to meet the Decent Homes standard.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Local authorities and housing associations are expected to ensure that no more than 10 per cent of their homes is below the Decent Homes standard at any one time.

Housing: Standards

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated to the Decent Homes programme in each financial year since 2009-10; and what commitment he has made for future funding of that programme.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government: Disciplinary Proceedings

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local government employees were suspended on full pay in each of the last five years.

Rishi Sunak: Central government does not collate this information.Local government workforce matters are devolved and it is for councils as independent employers to make decisions on staff disciplinary. This information will be held locally.

Local Government Finance: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many councils have (a) requested and (b) received funding help for urgent fire safety work following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government: Christchurch

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of  26 February 2018 HCWS486 on Local Government Policy, if he will place in the library a copy of the evidence which satisfied him that local government and service delivery will be improved in Christchurch as a result of his decision.

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of  26 February 2018 HCWS486 on Local Government Policy, if he will place in the library a copy of the evidential basis which satisfied him that across Dorset as a whole there is a good deal of local support for the new Council.

Rishi Sunak: It was on the basis of all the relevant material available to the Secretary of State that he was satisfied that the two new unitary councils are likely to improve local government and service delivery in their areas, and that across Dorset as a whole there is a good deal of support for these councils.This material comprised the information submitted to the Secretary of State by Dorset Councils which is available on www.futuredorset.co.uk, the representations he received from Dorset Councils between 7 November 2017 and 8 January 2018, which we are placing in the Library of the House further to the answer on 1 March 2018 of Question UIN 129890, and all the other representations and information which the Secretary of State has received which will now be placed in the Library of the House.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of  26 February 2018 HCWS486 on Local Government Policy, how many (a) written and (b) oral representations he received between 7 November 2017 and 8 January 2018 on Local Government reorganisation in Dorset; and how many of those representations were (a) against the abolition of Christchurch Borough Council and (b) in favour of the abolition of Christchurch Borough Council.

Rishi Sunak: Of the 210 written representations made between 7 November 2017 and 8 January 2018 on local government reorganisation in Dorset, 96 were supportive of the proposal, comprising 29 from members of the public and 67 from others including businesses, public bodies and parish councils, 15 were neutral, and 99 were opposed, comprising 62 from members of the public and 37 from others. The Secretary of State has also had conversations on local government reorganisation in Dorset with Honourable and Right Honourable Friends.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of  26 February 2018 HCWS486 on Local Government Policy, what the steps were that were taken after 7 November 2017 to secure local consent; and to the extent to which local consent was secured.

Rishi Sunak: The further steps taken to secure local consent involved both East Dorset District Council and Purbeck District Council withdrawing their opposition to the Dorset proposal.

Council Tax: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of  26 February 2018 HCWS486 on Local Government Policy, if the drafts of the necessary secondary legislation will include a requirement that the same level of Council tax will be payable by all households on Band D in the unitary authority proposal for Christchurch, Poole and Bournemouth.

Rishi Sunak: The Secretary of State intends to bring forward secondary legislation shortly before the Summer Recess making provision on council tax harmonisation, including specifying by when a new unitary council must equalise council tax over its whole area.In deciding these provisions, the Secretary of State shall have regard to local preferences, the impact on individual council tax bills across the areas concerned, and the financial implications for the authority - seeking to strike a balance between ensuring council tax payers do not experience a large increase in bills and not allowing residents in any one part of the area to be concerned that they are effectively contributing more to the cost of services than others in the area.

Housing: Construction

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to oral contribution of the Minister for Housing on 6 February 2018, Official Report, column 1461, whether a local authority with (a) no brownfield land to build on and (b) heavily contaminated land is classified as exceptional circumstances for enabling housebuilding on greenbelt land.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing: Construction

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Housing on 6 February 2018, Official Report, column 1461, whether he has to empower local authorities to prevent developers from building on greenbelt when allocated brownfield sites have not been developed.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of using desktop studies to assess the flammability of cladding on buildings.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Council Tax

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to encourage local authorities to avoid raising council tax.

Rishi Sunak: Council tax decisions are a matter for local authorities. However, we continue to ensure that council tax-payers can veto excessive increases via a local referendum. We expect council tax to remain lower in real terms in 2018-19 than it was in 2010-11.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2018 to Question 128437, on High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention, for what reasons that Answer does not indicate whether (a) class 0 (national class) and (b) class B-s3, d2 must be composed only of materials that are of limited combustibility.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 26 February 2018 HCWS486 on Local Government Policy, what estimate he has made of the potential savings; and if he will place a copy of the cost-benefit analysis in the Library.

Rishi Sunak: The information to which the Secretary of State had regarded when making his decision on the Dorset unitary proposal included financial estimates from the work of independent professional firms indicating that savings of some £28 million per year could be made. Information on costs and benefits is available on www.futuredorset.co.uk.

Local Government

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 26 February HCWS486 on Local Government Policy, if he will set out the planning and housing challenges in respect of which he is satisfied that a more strategic and holistic approach will be facilitated.

Dominic Raab: In relation to housing and planning challenges my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has had regard to the extent to which the area as a whole is currently meeting its housing needs.

Unitary Councils: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, by what means and on what date he was informed by (a) Poole Borough Council and (b) Bournemouth Borough Council that those councils did not consent to a new unitary authority comprising Poole and Bournemouth unless Christchurch Borough Council were included; and what reasons were given for the refusal to consent.

Rishi Sunak: The position, including reasons, of Bournemouth and Poole Borough Councils in relation to the inclusion of Christchurch Borough in a new unitary authority was set out in their representations of 5 and 4 January 2018 respectively. Further to the answer Question UIN 129890 on 1 March 2018, I am placing these representations in the Library of the House.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Housing

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Future Accommodation Model survey, what assessment he has made of the effect of the level  survey’s response rate on the efficacy of the survey’s results and conclusions.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Future Accommodation Model (FAM) Survey was conducted in 2016 to gauge the views of serving Armed Forces personnel on current accommodation provision and proposed options under FAM. The Survey was open to approximately 137,000 personnel. The response rate was 18%, based on 24,302 valid responses. Full details of the methodology used in the FAM survey can be found at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-future-accommodation-model-survey-2016. Response rates tended to be lower among the more junior ranks, which means these groups are under-represented within the data. To compensate for this non-response bias, FAM Survey results were weighted by Service, Rank and Marital Status as the key variables affecting both responses rates and views on FAM. The results are now being considered alongside qualitative data, collected from focus groups and workshops, and quantitative data from other surveys.

Warships

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Fleet Ready Escort available was from 1 January to 22 February 2018.

Margaret Beckett: There is always one Royal Navy ship that is designated as the Fleet Ready Escort (FRE), although there are always a number of Royal Navy units available in UK waters that could conduct this role depending on the tasking.Two ships were designated as the FRE from 1 January to 22 February 2018. These ships were the Type 23 Frigates HMS ST ALBANS and HMS WESTMINSTER.

RAF Brize Norton

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential increase in aircraft noise around RAF Brize Norton arising from the proposed change to airspace there; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Ministry of Defence officials have taken advice from the Department for Transport and Civil Aviation Authority on environmental impact requirements of the change process. There is no requirement for additional advice from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The airspace change is about enhancing safety for existing levels of movements at RAF Brize Norton. There are no plans to change or increase overall flight numbers.

Ministry of Defence: Business Interests

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which members of his Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and senior civil servants.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Permanent Secretary, Stephen Lovegrove, is responsible for the effective management and appropriate handling of business appointment applications within the Ministry of Defence. Applications by former Ministers are considered by the Independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments directly.

Boeing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many defence contracts his Department has awarded to Boeing since December 2017; and what the value of each of those contracts was.

Guto Bebb: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Army: Recruitment

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 125923 on Army: Recruitment, how many people (a) applied and (b) enlisted in the regular army in October to December 2017.

Mark Lancaster: During October 2017 there were around 6,440 Regular Army applications. Application data for November 2017 onwards is not currently available.Between 1 October and 31 December 2017, there were 1,700 Regular Army enlistments.The application and enlistment data is not directly comparable. Many of those applied since October will still be in the recruitment process.All figures should be considered provisional and subject to review.Notes/Caveats:The figures include soldiers, untrained officers and officer cadets.Enlistment data excludes trained direct entrants into Phase 2 training, those who rejoin and others who enter directly into the trained strength.Application data is a single service estimate.Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Mali: Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel he plans to deploy to Mali in support of the three RAF CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters providing logistical support to French operations in the Sahel region.

Mark Lancaster: The planning process is still under way and personnel numbers are yet to be finalised.I will write to the hon.Member with the information once it is available.

Submarines

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what dates (a) each of the remaining Trafalgar class submarines are planned to leave service and (b) each of the  Astute class are planned to enter service with the Royal Navy; and if he will make a statement.

Guto Bebb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the then Minister for Defence Procurement (Harriett Baldwin) on 24 February 2017 to Questions 64489 and 64490 from the hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones).



64489 - Trafalgar Class Submarines
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South Korea: Joint Exercises

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 123796, which joint exercises with South Korea he plans the UK to participate in over the next two years.

Mark Lancaster: As one of the 16 historic Sending States to the United Nations Command in Korea, the UK routinely contributes a small number of staff officers to annual joint United States - Republic of Korea exercises. These include Exercise KEY RESOLVE, normally held in the spring, and Exercise ULCHI FREEDOM GUARDIAN, held in late summer.These exercises are in accordance with the UK's role in upholding the Korean Armistice Agreement, are defensive in nature and demonstrate our commitment to supporting peace and stability on the peninsula. We will continue to provide support to these exercises.In addition, the deployment of Royal Navy ships to the region during 2018 will see participation in other joint exercises with partners such as the Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States.

USA: Joint Exercises

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 123796, which joint exercises with the US he plans the UK to participate in over the next two years.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Japan: Joint Exercises

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 123796, which joint exercises with Japan he plans the UK to participate in over the next two years.

Mark Lancaster: We are developing plans for Royal Navy ships to participate in bilateral exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force during their respective deployments to East Asia in 2018.We also plan to participate in a land-based exercise in Japan in October 2018 with elements of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force.These exercises deliver on a 2017 commitment made by the UK and Japanese Prime Ministers to conduct joint training and exercises.

South Korea: Joint Exercises

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 123796, how many personnel from the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force are planned to participate in joint exercises with South Korea over the next two years.

Mark Lancaster: In line with our participation in recent years, the number of personnel currently expected to participate in UN Command-led Exercise KEY RESOLVE later this spring are:Army 44Royal Navy 6Royal Air Force 6No decisions on the number of personnel planned to participate in future joint exercises with the Republic of Korea over the next two years have been taken. In accordance with the UK's role in upholding the Korean Armistice Agreement, we will continue to provide support to routine, defensive UN Command-led exercises.

USA: Joint Exercises

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 123796, how many personnel from the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force are planned to participate in joint exercises with the US over the next two years.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the difference was in each of the last five years between the amount paid by his Department to Annington Homes and the amount of Service Family Accommodation personnel charges collected by his Department for (a) each property owned by Annington homes and (b) in total.

Mark Lancaster: The information is not held.The Ministry of Defence does not breakdown figures to isolate income from Annington-owned properties so we are unable to provide the total income received for Annington owned homes only.

*No heading*

Christine Jardine: What contingency plans his Department has put in place in the event that a private contractor to the Department collapses.

Guto Bebb: We regularly monitor the status of our most important suppliers and have robust, sustainable measures in place to reduce risk should there be a collapse.We assess the legal and financial status of the company before placing a contract. We then monitor the financial health and performance of the company throughout the contract, taking action as appropriate.

*No heading*

Tom Brake: What steps his Department is taking to maintain defence co-operation with the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

Gavin Williamson: As the Prime Minister said in her 17 February speech in Munich, Europe’s security is our security. We want to co-operate closely with the full range of European partners, including the EU, to keep our citizens safe from threats and to defend our shared values. This could include continued UK participation in specific EU-led operations and missions. We are also cooperating with EU partners to develop Europe’s military capabilities in a way that strengthens NATO and our wider alliances too.

*No heading*

Toby Perkins: What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Williamson: The Modernising Defence Programme is being undertaken to ensure that our Armed Forces have the right processes and capabilities in place to address the evolving threats that we face. As the hon. Member will be aware, I have had regular discussions with the Chancellor since arriving at the Ministry of Defence and will continue to do so as the Modernising Defence Programme progresses.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Parkinson's Disease

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when Ministers of his Department last met with Parkinson's UK to discuss support provided to people with Parkinson's disease; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

Sarah Newton: I met with the Disability Benefits Consortium, which includes representation from Parkinson’s UK, on 17th January 2018. At that meeting we discussed a wide range of topics which broadly covered Personal Independence Payments, the Work Capability Assessment, and Universal Credit. I have asked my officials to continue our dialogue with the Consortium, in order to look more closely at the matters they raised with me.

Personal Independence Payment: Visual Impairment

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the personal independence payments application process is accessible to people with sight loss.

Sarah Newton: The initial part of a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim is generally made over the telephone. We also have a variety of reasonable adjustments. Someone can telephone on behalf of the claimant but the claimant must be present when the call is made.Where our customers advise us that they need assistance to access our services and information, we make reasonable adjustments to meet their individual needs. This means the Department communicates with customers in a variety of different formats such as Braille, audio, large print, through third party interpreters or by arranging for a member of staff to visit the customer in their home. Forms are available as a reasonable adjustment in electronic formats compatible with assistive software such as JAWS, Dragon, NVDA, Read & Write, and Zoomtext.

Social Security Benefits: Ellesmere Port and Neston

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sanctions have been made against claimants in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alok Sharma: The available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support and Universal Credit sanction decisions by parliamentary constituency is published and can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

State Retirement Pensions: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands will not receive the new state pension as a result of failing to meet the National Insurance Contributions threshold.

Guy Opperman: The new State Pension (nSP) was introduced for people reaching State Pension age from 6th April 2016 onwards. To qualify, people usually need to have a minimum of ten years on their National Insurance record when they reach State Pension age. Our latest data on the number of qualifying years people have are for the 2015/16 financial year, so we do not yet have any data on the numbers of people reaching State Pension age under the new State Pension with less than 10 years of National Insurance contributions. Our analysis published in January 2016 forecast that around 2% of women in Great Britain reaching State Pension age by 2020 would have less than 10 qualifying years. Subject to qualification, Pension Credit may be available for people who are not eligible for the new State Pension.

Cold Weather Payments: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Cold Weather Payments have been issued to people in (a) Coventry South constituency, (b) Coventry and (c) the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

Kit Malthouse: The Cold Weather Payment scheme is administered at weather station level rather than any other standard GB geography such as constituency level. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold Weather Payments are triggered when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0oC or below over seven consecutive days. The estimated numbers of Cold Weather Payments are produced at a weather station level and cannot be broken down further. As a result, estimates given in the tables below are subject to a margin of error when matching to the specified areas. The postcode areas within (a) Coventry South constituency (b) Coventry City Council metropolitan district are linked to the Coleshill weather station. Table 1 gives the estimated number of Cold Weather Payments and triggers for all postcodes covered by Coleshill weather station in each of the last five years. Table 1: Cold Weather Payments in each of the last five years, Coleshill weather station Year2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17Cold Weather triggers20000Estimated Cold Weather Payments605,2000000 The postcode areas within (c) the West Midlands Government Office Region are mostly covered by the following weather stations: Coleshill, Hawarden Airport, Hereford-Credenhill, Keele, Lake Vyrnwy, Leek, Little Rissington, Llysdinam (formerly Sennybridge), Nottingham Watnall, Rostherne, and Shawbury. Table 2 gives the total estimated number of Cold Weather Payments in each of the last five years at these weather stations. Table 2: Cold Weather Payments in each of the last five years, weather stations covering the West Midlands Year2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17Estimated Cold Weather Payments1,536,300018,90000  Notes The number of payments given here is an estimate as information on the exact number of payments made is not readily available. These figures are produced by determining the volume of eligible recipients in each weather station area at the start of the winter season and using these figures throughout the winter to estimate payments and expenditure based on the actual triggers recorded. The number of payments made is not necessarily the total number of individuals benefitting from a Cold Weather Payment. Any individuals making a joint claim for one of the qualifying benefits, such as a couple living together, will receive one payment between them rather than one payment each.

Mortgages: Coventry South

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households his Department has written to regarding the change in Support for Mortgage Interest from a benefit to a loan in Coventry South constituency.

Kit Malthouse: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 February 2018 to Question 128242 (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-02-19/128242/).

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 8 January 2018 to Questions 121064, 121066 and 121067, what information his Department has provided to people claiming welfare support to confirm that they are eligible for a loan.

Kit Malthouse: All existing SMI claimants will be offered a loan. Claimants are given information about how the SMI loan will work, about alternatives to the loan and organisations that may offer further information and support. This is followed up by telephone calls to explain the information and answer any questions. A leaflet containing Frequently Asked Questions is issued to support this informed discussion. Where a claimant expresses an interest in taking up the offer of an SMI loan they will be sent a loan agreement and charge form to complete and return. They also receive detailed guidance on how to complete these documents.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sanctions have been imposed on universal credit claimants who are (a) disabled and (b) experiencing mental health problems in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

Alok Sharma: We engage at a personal and individual level with all of our claimants and are committed to tailoring the support that we give and any conditionality requirements to the specific circumstances of the individuals, such as disabilities and mental health conditions. Sanctions are only ever used as a last resort when claimants have failed to meet their conditionality requirements without good reason. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities, and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted. The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit easements from conditionality have been applied to (a) claimants experiencing a period of sickness, (b) claimants suffering a bereavement following the death of a partner, child or qualifying young person, (c) claimants receiving treatment for drug and alcohol dependency and (d) claimants who are main carers of a Child in Considerable Distress.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not recorded centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has assessed the potential merits of reimbursing general practitioners for providing medical evidence to support benefit claims; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: General Practitioners (GPs) are already directly reimbursed for providing medical evidence to DWP for Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment claims and when the claimant is potentially terminally ill for benefits which have special provisions for terminally ill people. GPs are also contractually obliged through their contract with NHS England to provide medical evidence for Employment and Support Allowance claims.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether jobcentre staff are required to undertake a safeguarding visit before imposing a sanction on a vulnerable customer.

Alok Sharma: Jobcentre work coaches are required to set reasonable requirements of customers, review compliance, identify cases of non-compliance and make referrals to a Decision Maker for consideration of if a sanction is appropriate in particular circumstances. Throughout this process, work coaches and decision makers take into account individual customer circumstances, including any vulnerability, complex need or health issue. Guidance for Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support and Universal Credit cases, covers the requirement for a home visit to be undertaken before making a referral to a Decision Maker for whether or not to consider a sanction, where someone has a condition that could affect their ability to understand and comply with a specific requirement.

Universal Credit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to encourage the Post Office to allow people on universal credit to access credit union services; and if she will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Work and Pensions has regular discussions with stakeholders across the financial sector, including the Post Office, to ensure universal credit claimants can access payments readily. A direct payment into a bank, building society or credit union account is the Government’s preferred way to make payments. The Government is supportive of discussions between payment service providers, credit unions and the Post Office to explore the potential for credit union members to access some face-to-face services at the Post Office.

Pensioners: Social Security Benefits

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of tapering state benefits when an employee retires and has an auto-enrolment pension.

Guy Opperman: The new State Pension is not means tested. There are no plans to change this.

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which method her Department used to estimate the number of recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest who have access to funds and therefore would not need to use the new loan system.

Kit Malthouse: Information on the Department’s estimate of current SMI recipients who have access to funds and therefore would not need to use the new loan system is available here:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2017/117/pdfs/ukia_20170117_en.pdf The estimate is based on analysis of the Family Resources Survey on the number of mortgage holders not in employment who receive help with mortgage payments e.g. from friends or relatives.

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the effectiveness of Serco in informing Support for Mortgage Interest recipients about the transition to loans; what estimate her Department has made of the number of people not yet informed on that transition; and what representations her Department has received on the adequacy of the service provided by Serco in providing comprehensive information on that transition.

Kit Malthouse: Serco have contacted approximately 95% of existing SMI claimants. The remaining 5% of cases we have so far been unable to refer to Serco for a variety of reasons, such as the need to obtain a telephone number for the claimant. The majority of this group has however been asked to provide the information required, and the reason it is needed including the change of SMI from a benefit to a loan. Serco have met all of the service levels included in the contract and we have received a minimal number of complaints about the service.

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value is of Serco's contract to undertake Support for Mortgage Interest replacement loans work; and what terms that contract contains on performance-related pay.

Kit Malthouse: Serco have been appointed as an external supplier to offer information (as opposed to advice) to new and existing SMI customers. The contract was awarded following an Open competition and is valued at £4.5 million. Payment is related to the number of customer contacts completed. There are no payments linked to call outcome or to customer decision on whether to take out a loan.

Mortgages: Interest Payments

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Support for Mortgage Interest caseload was by (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency for the most recent twelve months for which data is available.

Kit Malthouse: The Department does not hold the data requested. The data needed to make robust estimates of the number of recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) at geographies smaller than Government Office Region is not available to Departmental analysts.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proposals he has to improve the accuracy and comprehensiveness of medical evidence supplied to Work Capability Assessments.

Sarah Newton: The Department is considering the issue of improving the accuracy and comprehensiveness of medical evidence supplied to Work Capability Assessments as part of its response to the Work and Pensions Committee report on PIP and ESA assessments dated 14 February 2018 and will respond to the Committee in due course.

Work Capability Assessment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will place a copy of the routine oral questions asked during face-to-face medical assessments for (a) personal independence payment and (b) employment and support allowance in the Library.

Sarah Newton: There is no set script or bank of questions that Healthcare Professionals ask during face-to-face assessments for Employment and Support Allowance or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The assessments are conducted in line with the guidance available to the Health Professionals: the PIP Assessment Guide, Part 1 (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/684001/pip-assessment-guide-part-1-assessment-process.pdf); and the Work Capability Assessment Handbook (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634850/wca-handbook.pdf).

Occupational Pensions

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the effect of pensions auto-enrolment on the income of low-paid workers.

Guy Opperman: Automatic enrolment has been a great success story with nearly 9.3 million workers enrolled into pensions saving. More than 1 million employers have met their automatic enrolment duties. Pension saving involves a balance between spending needs today versus saving for tomorrow – our system enables people to save and get an employer contribution, in most cases with tax relief too, so as to build retirement provision for their future. And it’s a system that allows people to opt out if they so choose. And importantly, the earnings trigger –currently at £10,000 and which is kept under annual review– is set at a level at which it ‘pays to save’ for individuals. The largest increase in participation has been among those for whom the policy was developed, including eligible low earners with some 63% of these workers in the private sector earning between £10,000 and £19,999 now saving into a workplace pension. We want to build on this, and we are increasing the minimum contributions from the current 2% of qualifying earnings to 5% in April 2018 and 8% in April 2019 to improve the level of savings, and in our 2017 Review of automatic enrolment set out our ambition for reforms which together would increase a median earners’ private pension pot size at retirement by over 40 per cent and for lower earners by over 80 per cent. We recognise the potential impact on low paid workers; but of the 10 million employees we expect to be newly saving or saving more by April 2018 as a result of automatic enrolment, many will not see a fall in their take home pay because the increase in contributions will be counter-balanced by increases to the personal tax allowance, any pay increases, and the national living wage.

Winter Fuel Payments

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on ensuring that all people with pre-payment meters who are eligible for the winter fuel payment have that payment applied automatically.

Guy Opperman: Winter Fuel Payments are cash payments based on age and residence, and are not means tested. Most payments are made automatically between November and December based on information held by my Department; payments can also be claimed via Gov.uk. In addition, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and my Department work with energy companies to deliver discounts to energy bills through the Warm Home Discount Scheme. This provides an annual discount of £140 on the electricity bills of over 2 million low-income households. It is available to households in receipt of certain means-tested benefits whose energy supplier is covered by the Scheme. Households receiving the Guarantee Credit of Pension Credit should receive these discounts on their bills automatically. Those in receipt of other selected benefits may apply for a discount to their energy company. Customers using all payment types, including pre-payment meters, are eligible for the Scheme.

Winter Fuel Payments

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department takes to retrospectively pay winter fuel payments to eligible recipients with pre-paid meters who have not had that payment applied by their energy supplier.

Guy Opperman: Winter Fuel Payments are cash payments based on age and residence, and are not means tested. Most payments are made automatically between November and December based on information held by my Department; payments can also be claimed via Gov.uk.In addition, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and my Department work with energy companies to deliver discounts to energy bills through the Warm Home Discount Scheme. This provides an annual discount of £140 on the electricity bills of over 2 million low-income households.Customers using all payment types, including pre-payment meters, are eligible for the Scheme. The method of payment depends on the electricity supplier and the type of meter. The money isn’t paid to the customer - it’s a one-off discount on their electricity bill, between September and March. The discount is provided to eligible customers as a payment credited to their electricity account, or as a credit on their electricity key or meter, during the winter.

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of take-up for the new loan product that will replace Support for Mortgage Interest in April 2018 is people currently in receipt of that benefit.

Kit Malthouse: SMI loans will be available to all claimants who currently qualify for SMI as a benefit. The level of support available will be calculated in the same way as under the current system and claimants and mortgage lenders will not see any difference in the payments they receive. Claimants may change their mind whether to take or decline a loan at any time.

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 127702, whether all of the recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest have now been contacted regarding the cessation of that benefit.

Kit Malthouse: Serco have contacted approximately 95% of existing SMI claimants. The remaining 5% of cases we have so far been unable to refer to Serco for a variety of reasons, such as the need to obtain a telephone number for the claimant. The majority of this group has however been asked to provide the information required, and the reason it is needed including the change of SMI from a benefit to a loan.

Revenue and Customs: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential roles that staff employed by HMRC at the Waterfront offices in Dudley could play in her Department, in particular with the work associated with the introduction and administration of universal credit.

Alok Sharma: The Department and HMRC have reciprocal arrangements on filling vacancies where staff in either organisation are available for redeployment. The planning assumptions to transfer some HMRC staff and sites to the Department to support the delivery of Universal Credit were made some years ago. Since that time we have changed the way Universal Credit is delivered, with Jobcentres now joined up with Universal Credit Service Centres in local areas to provide a more seamless service for claimants. Alongside this, high levels of employment and an increase in levels of self-service and automation have meant that the Department’s resourcing needs in certain areas and for larger centralised offices have changed. Moreover, it was always expected that fewer people would be needed to support Universal Credit than the benefits and tax credits that it replaces. Collectively, these factors have resulted in a reduced demand for resources in the delivery of Universal Credit nationally, including the service in the Midlands. In light of this information, the decision was taken that HMRC staff employed in Dudley would no longer be required by the Department.

Children: Maintenance

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there are plans to reduce the amount of debt that a child maintenance paying parent owes before an application for a Liability Order can be made.

Kit Malthouse: The minimum amount for which a liability order will usually be sought is £500. This is intended to ensure that our use of this power is proportionate to the cost of applying for a liability order. This threshold is discretionary, and we may apply for liability orders for lower amounts depending on the specific circumstances of a case.

Employment and Support Allowance: Parkinson's Disease

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease are in the employment and support allowance work related activity group.

Sarah Newton: On 31 August 2017, the latest date for which the information is available, there were 150 people in the Employment and Support Allowance Work Related Activity Group whose primary condition is recorded as Parkinson’s disease.

State Retirement Pensions: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints the Independent Case Examiner is considering from Halton constituency relating to the equalisation of the state pension age; and how many such complaints from Halton constituency that examiner has resolved since 2 October 2017.

Kit Malthouse: The Independent Case Examiner’s Office has to date received one complaint relating to the equalisation of state pension age from the Halton constituency, which was declined for investigation in February 2018 as the relevant acceptance criteria had not been met.

Employment: Disability

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on how many disabled people have found work as a direct result of the Disability Confident campaign.

Sarah Newton: Disability Confident helps employers to improve in their ability to recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Over 5500 employers have joined the scheme to date. Disability Confident employers make specific commitments, offering a range of job opportunities, work experience, work trials, supported internships etc. As an example of its impact, since becoming Disability Confident, Fujitsu has significantly increased the number of people with disabilities on its graduate recruitment programme. 20% of the cohort last September had disabilities. Fujitsu has also seen an increase in the number of employees declaring they have a disability, which allows the company to better provide adjustments or support. The number of disabled people in work has increased by around 600,000 since 2013.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many suspected benefit fraud reports from the public have been (a) received and (b) led to action by her Department in each of the last five years.

Kit Malthouse: DWP takes its responsibility to detect, prevent and recover benefit fraud very seriously. As the money paid in benefits is taxpayer’s money it is right that we ensure it is paid correctly, and recover any money that is paid incorrectly. All reported allegations of benefit fraud are recorded and appropriate action taken. In 2013 the total referrals received from all sources equated to 864,200. In the same year, there were 614,350 positive outcomes. A positive outcome is everything that is achieved apart from a no result outcome. This can include prosecution, Administrative Penalty, benefit correction and / or overpayment calculation. In 2014, DWP received a total of 823,450 referrals. There were 627,300 positive outcomes. In 2015, DWP received a total of 779,050 referrals. There were 589,900 positive outcomes. In 2016, DWP received a total of 752,400 referrals. There were 602,550 positive outcomes. In 2017, DWP received a total of 825,000 referrals. There were 600,150 positive outcomes.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken has been to process suspected benefit fraud reports from the public in each of the last five years.

Kit Malthouse: Benefit fraud investigators are expected to progress cases without undue delay and investigations are brought to a conclusion as soon as enough evidence is gathered to prove or disprove the allegation made. The time taken to do this will depend on the nature of the allegation and the avenues of enquiry that need to be pursued. Some investigations are extremely complex requiring a greater investment of time. It would not be appropriate to compare investigation times across the board as to do so would not provide meaningful data.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether members of the public who submit reports to her Department on potential benefit fraud receive updates on the development of such cases.

Kit Malthouse: Members of the public are not given any progress updates concerning allegations of benefit fraud they may have made. All information gathered or received during the course of an investigation is confidential and must not be disclosed to any unauthorised third party. Third party information falls under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and can only be released where such disclosure would not breach a person’s right to privacy or the Data Protection Act principles.

Personal Independence Payment: Orthostatic Tremor

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to change the level of financial support provided by his Department under the personal independence payment scheme for claimants who have Primary Orthostatic Tremor.

Sarah Newton: Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and the level at which it can be paid, is based on the daily living and mobility needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, rather than being based on the condition or disability itself. People with movement disorders, such as primary orthostatic tremor, are able to access PIP in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Air Pollution

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which local authorities breached legal air quality limits in 2016.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The local authorities which breached the annual and hourly average nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values is presented in the table in the attached PDF.



Local Authorities exceeding annual NO2 limit value
(PDF Document, 37.65 KB)

Domestic Waste: Recycling

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to encourage investment in domestic reprocessing of recyclable material.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government remains committed to maximising the value we get from our resources, and is assessing how we handle our waste in the UK in the longer term. In particular, we must reduce the amount of waste we produce overall and the amount we export to be dealt with elsewhere. Later this year we will publish our Resources and Waste Strategy which will explain in detail how we will recycle as much as possible, whether domestically or abroad, and return high quality materials back to the economy.

Recycling

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of the merits of implementing the EU Circular Economy Package proposals in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Officials are undertaking cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the potential impacts of implementing the EU Circular Economy Package, including recent amendments. This has yet to be reviewed by Ministers.

Incinerators

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the volume of recyclable waste that has been incinerated in each of the last seven years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: It is not possible to estimate the proportion of waste used in incineration plants that is recyclable because large tonnages of incinerated waste are reported as “mixed” waste categories, for which we do not have estimates of recyclable content. Additionally, there are no established definitions for waste that would be deemed to be “recyclable” based on the European Waste Catalogue waste code classifications that underpin waste reporting.

Floods: Colne Valley

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many individual properties have taken out Flood Re Insurance in the Colne Valley constituency in the last two years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Flood Re scheme began in April 2016 and has now been running for just under two years. As of 30 September 2017 there were 199 policies taken up with Flood Re in the Colne Valley. The annual year-end figures will be available after 30 March 2018.

Incinerators: Construction

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many contracts have been signed whit companies for the building of incinerators with a lease of over 20 years, in each of the last five years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra does not collect this information.

Biofuels

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the proposed EU ban on palm oil in biofuels to tackle global deforestation.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: A rapid increase in palm oil production in the last decade has acted as a driver of deforestation and land use change, contributing to increased carbon emissions. The EU is seeking to correct this by restricting the extent to which crop-based biofuels can count towards renewable energy targets. Palm oil has not been used in biofuel in the UK for several years and as such the Department has not made an assessment of the potential merits of the proposed EU restriction on use. The UK is committed to supporting sustainable trade for key commodities associated with deforestation, including palm oil. We are signatory to the Amsterdam Declarations, have endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests, and are a member of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020. All of these initiatives support action to prevent deforestation and encourage the sustainable production of key commodities.

Environment Agency: Fees and Charges

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Environment Agency is proposing to increase variation fees; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) has undertaken a fundamental review of its fees and charges which has formed part of a wider review by the Defra Group. A key focus has been ensuring full recovery of the cost of the services provided. When permits granted by the EA are changed to raise standards, or because the operator applies to do something differently, those variations are charged for. The EA is proposing to amend variation fees to ensure that it fully recovers the costs of its regulatory activities and reduces the burden on the tax payer to fund this work. The EA has consulted widely on the proposals, and will continue to work with customers to manage the impact of any changes.

Recycling

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much waste was recycled in (a) the Telford constituency (b) Shropshire and (c) the UK in each year since 2010.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The official harmonised measure used by the UK to report recycling figures is Waste from Households recycling. This data is reported under the Waste Framework Directive and published annually in our ‘UK Statistics on Waste’ publication. Figures from 2010-2016 are available in Table 1. Figures for 2015 and 2016 include a methodological change to now include metal recovered from incinerator bottom ash (IBA). Table 1. UK Waste from Households recycling, 2010-16Year (calendar)UK Tonnes recycled ('000 tonnes)Recycling rate (%)201010,87840.4%201111,49242.9%201211,59443.9%201311,43344.1%201412,03544.9%201511,78944.2%including IBAm11,89144.6%201612,19244.6%Including IBAm12,35245.2%Source: UK Statistics on Waste, DefraIBAm = Incinerator bottom ash metalWe do not gather data on recycling rates at the constituency level. Instead, we have data for recycled household waste structured around local authorities. This is published annually in our ‘Statistics on waste managed by local authorities in England’. The household waste recycling data for individual local authorities is very similar but not exactly the same as the waste from households recycling measure. It is slightly broader than the ‘Waste from Households’ measure, because it also includes waste from street bins, street sweepings, parks and grounds and some difference in what is included as recycling as IBA metal is not included. This data is reported on a financial-year basis, and local authority data is available in Table 2 for ‘Telford and Wrekin Council’ and ‘Shropshire’ for 2010-11 to 2016-17.Table 2. Household waste recycling at local authority level, 2010-11 to 2016-17 thousand tonnes and % rateYear (financial)Telford and Wrekin CouncilShropshire '000 tonnesRecycling rate (%)'000 tonnesRecycling rate (%)2010-1135.543.7%81.152.5%2011-1233.843.2%75.250.4%2012-1332.743.2%76.050.6%2013-1433.844.8%79.549.9%2014-1538.047.6%75.149.2%2015-1638.748.0%84.054.6%2016-1738.345.8%87.054.8%Source: Local Authority Collected Waste, Defra

Smoke Control Areas

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the amount spent by local authorities in the UK on Smoke Control Area enforcement in each year since 1992 up to the latest year for which data is available; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 12 February 2018, PQ 126545.

Chemicals: EU Law

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to adopt the REACH chemical use and transport regulations for chemicals produced and imported into the UK after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Withdrawal Bill will convert current EU law into domestic law wherever practical, giving consumers and businesses as much certainty as possible. This includes the REACH Regulation. The UK is strongly committed to the effective and safe management of chemicals. That will not change when we leave the EU. As part of the exit negotiations the Government will discuss with the EU and the 27 Member States how best to continue cooperation in the field of chemicals regulation in the best interests of both the UK and the EU. It would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of the negotiations.

Recycling

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to stimulate demand for recycled material.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Tackling waste, especially waste from single-use plastic, is a key priority for the Government. The Clean Growth Strategy, published on 12 October last year, commits us to move towards zero avoidable waste by 2050 and announced that we are exploring the scope for changes to our producer responsibility schemes. This work will include looking at potential mechanisms to provide incentives to encourage manufacturers to design their products in a more sustainable way and to encourage the greater use of recycled material. More detail will be announced in our Resources and Waste Strategy, which will be published later this year.

Fly Tipping: Prosecutions

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many fly tipping prosecutions there were in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017; and how much was raised in fines from such prosecutions in each of those years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In 2015-16 there were 2,135 prosecutions by local authorities for fly-tipping offences with a total of £677,000 raised in fines. In 2016-17 the figures were 1,571 prosecutions and £723,000 in fines. 98% of prosecutions result in a conviction. Additionally in 2015-16 there were 36,000 fixed penalty notices issued for fly-tipping offences which increased to 56,000 in 2016-17. The statistics are published annually by Defra and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england

Beverage Containers: Recycling

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to set a target for recycling disposable coffee cups.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Current packaging policies and regulations have resulted in recycling of packaging rising from around 46% in 2005 to 64% in 2016, with recycling of paper packaging at 82% in 2016 data. We do not currently have plans to set a specific target for the recycling of disposable coffee cups. Under the Packaging Waste Regulations major coffee retailers already have a legal and financial obligation to recover and recycle a proportion of the packaging they place on the market, including disposable coffee cups. The industry is also taking further, voluntary action aimed at significantly increasing paper cup recycling rates by 2020.

Hunting

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many reports his Department received of foxes killed by trail hunts by police force area in 2017.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We have received no reports of foxes killed by trail hunts in 2017.

Home Office

Police: Taxis

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2018 to Question 124288 and with reference to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 45792, when her Department stopped collecting information about spending on hire cars by police forces.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold this information. It is for elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to decide how their force’s resources are deployed and how best to manage their communications with the public.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the cost to EU citizens of applying for settled status after the UK leaves the EU will be equivalent to the cost of a British passport before or after changes to those costs announced on 29 January 2018.

Caroline Nokes: The Joint Report that the Government agreed with the EU in December sets out that documents “will be issued free of charge or for a charge not exceeding that imposed on nationals for the issuing of similar documents.” In the UK, this means that the fee for settled status documents will be no more than the fee for a UK passport (but not necessarily that it will be the same). We will set out the fee in regulations in due course and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny in the usual way.In accordance with our agreement with the EU, for those who hold valid EEA permanent residence documentation, there will be a simple process to exchange this for a settled status document free of charge.

Dublin Regulations

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on the UK's refugee policies of (a) renewing and (b) ending inclusion in the Dublin III Regulation after 29 March 2019.

Caroline Nokes: The Dublin III Regulation is an EU reciprocal agreement which requires agreement by both sides, and cannot be replicated unilaterally. We intend to continue to cooperate with the EU on asylum and illegal migration issues when we leave, and the exact nature of this cooperation will be a matter for negotiations.While Dublin III deals with the management of asylum seekers in the EU, the UK has its own family reunion policy to reunite refugees and recipients of hu-manitarian protection with their immediate family wherever they are in the world, granting over 23,000 family reunion visas in the last five years.The UK has a long and proud tradition of providing safe haven to those in need of international protection, and this will not be affected by our exit. The UK will remain bound by the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights, and continue to provide protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations.

Asylum: Middle East

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to take steps independently of the United Nations to increase the number of Christians from Syria and Iraq receiving resettlement in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: Our resettlement schemes prioritise the most vulnerable refugees regardless of race, religion or ethnicity – we do not discriminate in favour of, or against, any particular group. This is why we work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which has well-established procedures and criteria for identifying and resettling the most vulnerable refugees. Apart from the criteria we set for each scheme, we do not seek to influence which cases are referred to us by UNHCR.However, we recognise how important it is that UNHCR is accessible to the most vulnerable refugees, including members of minority religions, and this is why we are working with UNHCR and their partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register. This includes people in formal refugee camps, informal settlements and host communities. The efforts undertaken by UNHCR include mobile registration teams, outreach teams, and Help Desks for areas where different minority groups are concentrated to facilitate registration and access to services.

Police: Inflation

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the rate of inflation for police forces is higher than that for the average household; and what estimate it has made of that rate for police forces over the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: Following engagement with every police force in England and Wales on the demands facing them, the Government has enabled each Police and Crime Commissioner to maintain their direct resource funding in real terms in 2018/19. In addition, we identified substantial opportunities to improve efficiency and productivity, including £120m of potential commercial savings.

Refugees

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124424, on Refugees, whether her Department plans to publish the findings of its pilot by UK Visas and Immigration in the North East and Yorkshire and Humberside; and what criteria her Department used to determine that that pilot was tested successfully.

Caroline Nokes: The Post Grant Appointment Service was put in place to ensure that refugees who wish to apply for benefits are assisted with their application and receive a prompt first payment of any benefit for which they qualify.The scheme was tested successfully in the North East and Yorkshire and Humberside region by mid 2017, and national roll-out to all areas of the country where asylum seekers are accommodated by the Home Office was completed in early October 2017. The Home Office, working in partnership with the Department for Work & Pensions, is continuing its evaluation on the implementation of the service, alongside it’s impact and will report in due course.

Visas: Applications

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2018 to Question 123573, if she will direct UK Visas and Immigration to introduce set standards for the judging of visa applications as complex by caseworkers.

Caroline Nokes: There are no plans to set standards for judging visa applications as complex at this time.Visa applications are considered to be complex when an Entry Clearance Officer determines that additional information is required in order for a decision to be made. This usually means that the applications will take longer to process than the standard timescales.In such circumstances UKVI will write to the customer within the standard processing time and explain what will happen nextThe published information on processing times for visa applications is published as part of the Migration Transparency data, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration

Visas: Proof of Identity

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2018 to Question 123852, how much her Department has paid in reimbursement for costs relating to lost documents in each year since 2015.

Caroline Nokes: This information is not held centrally.

Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons Review

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124249, on Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons Review, which bodies with an interest in immigration detention her Department plans to contact; what the timetable is for revising the guidance; and what assessment her Department has made of the recommendations or findings made by Stephen Shaw.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is currently engaging with a wide range of bodies on revisions to the adults at risk in immigration detention statutory guidance following a judgment handed down by the High Court on 10 October 2017, and will continue to do so.The Government is required by the Court to respond to the judgment within a reasonable timeframe. Stephen Shaw CBE is currently reviewing the Department’s implementation of the recommendations contained in his report on the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons, published in January 2016.

Musicians: Immigration Controls

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) musicians and (b) artists have been refused entry into the UK due to them being deemed not conducive to the public good.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not hold the information in the format requested.

Forensic Science

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to protect forensic evidence following the collapse of Key Forensic Services; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reopening the Forensic Science Service to ensure forensic work is not lost in the event of a contractor's closure.

Mr Nick Hurd: I welcome the swift action taken by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ to manage the administration of Key Forensic Services (KFS), minimising the impact on the criminal justice system and protecting the evidence for live cases. With Home Office support, they reached an agreement with the Administrators to ensure that the business continues to operate so that evidence KFS holds continues to be properly and professionally managed in accordance with the standards set by the Forensic Science Regulator. There are no plans to reopen the Forensic Science Service.

Crime: Barnsley East

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made on the effects of rural crime on (a) residents and (b) business in Barnsley East constituency.

Mr Nick Hurd: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 05 March 2018.The correct answer should have been:

I welcome the swift action taken by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ to manage the administration of Key Forensic Services (KFS), minimising the impact on the criminal justice system and protecting the evidence for live cases. With Home Office support, they reached an agreement with the Administrators to ensure that the business continues to operate so that evidence KFS holds continues to be properly and professionally managed in accordance with the standards set by the Forensic Science Regulator.There are no plans to reopen the Forensic Science Service.The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the effect of rural crime on residents and businesses in Barnsley East. The independent Crime Survey for England and Wales continues to show that, for those crimes covered by the Survey, people in rural areas are less likely to be the victims of crime than those in urban areas. The 2015 Commercial Victimisation Survey also showed that 24 per cent of agriculture, forestry and fishing premises in England and Wales, had experienced at least one incident of crime (excluding online crime) which represented a statistically significant fall of six percentage points compared with the 2013 Survey.

Mr Nick Hurd: I welcome the swift action taken by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ to manage the administration of Key Forensic Services (KFS), minimising the impact on the criminal justice system and protecting the evidence for live cases. With Home Office support, they reached an agreement with the Administrators to ensure that the business continues to operate so that evidence KFS holds continues to be properly and professionally managed in accordance with the standards set by the Forensic Science Regulator.There are no plans to reopen the Forensic Science Service.The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the effect of rural crime on residents and businesses in Barnsley East. The independent Crime Survey for England and Wales continues to show that, for those crimes covered by the Survey, people in rural areas are less likely to be the victims of crime than those in urban areas. The 2015 Commercial Victimisation Survey also showed that 24 per cent of agriculture, forestry and fishing premises in England and Wales, had experienced at least one incident of crime (excluding online crime) which represented a statistically significant fall of six percentage points compared with the 2013 Survey.

Visas: Applications

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons her Department’s public guidance on applying for, extending or switching a family visa states that the earliest an application can be made is 28 days before current permission to stay in the UK expires; and for what reasons that guidance states that a decision will be made within 12 weeks if the application is from outside the UK and 8 weeks if the application is from within the UK.

Caroline Nokes: We advise on our website that if you wish to apply to extend your leave to remain on the basis of your family life, the earliest you can apply is 28 days before your current permission to stay in the UK under the family Immigration Rules expires.If an applicant applies more than 28 days before their leave expires or they are within 28 days of completing the relevant period of time spent in the UK, they are likely to face a shortfall at the end of their qualifying period for settlement, necessitating an additional application with associated fees and charges.The above requirement plays an essential part in the department’s workforce planning, allowing us to anticipate demand based upon previous grants of leave and to allocate resource appropriately.These Rules provide for extant leave in the relevant category at the date of application to be added to the new grant of such leave, up to a maximum of 28 days, ensuring that no leave is lost.UK Visas & Immigration is currently reviewing application service standards. Current service standards reflect how long an application may take to assess due to a wide range of factors.

Police: Football

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money the police service has received from charging for special police services in relation to football matches in each year from 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: Event organisers are responsible for the safety and security of their events, but they are able to request ‘Special Police Services’ from the relevant police force, which the force can charge for.Decisions on Special Police Services and any associated contractual charges are an operational matter for individual police force areas and information is not collected centrally.

Immigration

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) applications for leave to remain and (b) written communications from Members of Parliament on behalf of their constituents have been received by UK Visas and Immigration in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: Data on the number of MP enquiries made to the department, which includes both letters and emails, as well as information on the number of applications for leave to remain for in-and-out of country routes are published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Visas: Migrant Workers

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 (General) Certificates of Sponsorship have been refused since November 2017 as a result of the annual cap having been reached; which Standard Occupational Classification codes have been affected by that cap; and how many applications have been refused for each of those codes.

Caroline Nokes: The specific information requested is not included in statistics published by the Home Office.The number of restricted certificates of sponsorship granted, and the points threshold, for each monthly allocation since April 2016 is published on the Home Office website:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-sponsorship-restricted-certificate-allocations/allocations-of-restricted-certificates-of-sponsorship

Private Investigators: Regulation

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to regulate the activities of private detectives.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of the private security industry and this includes private investigators.The regulation of private investigators was included within the scope of the recent review of the Security Industry Authority. Once the findings of the review have been published, the Government will carefully consider any recommendations in relation to private investigators.

Knives: Crime

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to provide extra funding to the Metropolitan Police to tackle knife crime.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government has increased funding for the police by £450 million in 2018/19, including around £270 million of direct funding for forces from increased precept flexibility. The Mayor of London recently announced that he would be providing £110 million of additional funding to the Metropolitan Police in 2018/19, drawn in part from his decision to use this flexibility to raise over £40 million of additional local income.

Police Pursuits: Motorcycles

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending s2(A)(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to ensure that the police are able to chase alleged criminals on mopeds without the risk of subsequent conviction.

Mr Nick Hurd: This is one of the issues under consideration as part of the police pursuits review that I announced on 25 September 2017, that is looking at the law, guidance and practice surrounding both police pursuits and response driving.The outcome of this review will be completed in due course.

Scotland Office

NHS: Scotland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on staffing levels in the NHS in Scotland.

David Mundell: NHS staffing levels in Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland. The UK Government is clear that we don't regard the EU referendum result as a vote for the UK to pull up the drawbridge - we will continue to welcome those with the skills, the drive and the expertise to make a positive contribution, including health professionals. At this stage no decisions have been taken in respect of future immigration arrangements after the UK has left the European Union, and we are considering very carefully the options that are open to us. As part of that, it is important that we understand the impacts on the different sectors of the economy and the labour market from any changes that we make. The Home Secretary has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy, ahead of our exit from the EU. The MAC’s findings will be used to inform decisions about the UK’s post-EU exit immigration arrangements.

Broadband: Scotland

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 125135, on Housing: Broadband, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government’s brokered agreement to connect new build developments in Scotland; and what recent representations he has received from (a) Scottish Government Ministers and (b) local authorities on that agreement.

David Mundell: I have regular discussions with the Scottish Government to discuss a wide range of issues, including connectivity across Scotland. The agreement brokered by DCMS between the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Openreach offers full fibre broadband to new builds at no cost to the developer when conditions of threshold have been met. Virgin and GTC have similar agreements with the HBF. DCMS’s Barrier Busting Task Force are in the process of measuring the impact of these agreements. DCMS meet regularly with representatives from the Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities on a wide range of issues, including connectivity and new build developments.

HM Treasury

Revenue and Customs: Disclosure of Information

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2018 to Question 126877, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information shared by HMRC with organisations outside the UK is not subsequently shared with third parties.

Mel Stride: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is subject to a strict duty of confidentiality and will only disclose information where there is lawful authority to do so. HMRC carefully considers what is permitted by law before it shares information, and has a range of safeguards to ensure information is handled appropriately when it is shared with other Departments or organisations, whether in the UK or overseas. Where appropriate, these include, but are not limited to, ensuring that onward disclosure of information is only allowed with HMRC’s consent and putting in place agreements or Memoranda of Understanding containing provisions detailing how the information must be accessed, stored, used and protected by the receiving Department or organisation.

Social Services: Finance

Barbara Keeley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to move budgetary responsibility for social care from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Department of Health and Social Care.

Elizabeth Truss: When the Department of Health was renamed the Department of Health and Social Care, it also took on responsibility for the forthcoming Green Paper on Care and Support for Older People. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government supports local government to deliver public services to local people, and ensure local authorities have sufficient resources to provide necessary services to their communities. There are currently no plans to change responsibility for the funding of adult social care.

Tax Allowances

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received income tax relief benefit child dependency additions in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received income tax relief on severe disablement allowance in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received income tax relief on rehabilitee allowances in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Victoria Cross and other gallantry awards holders received relief on pensions and annuities in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Forces’ widows received income tax relief on children’s allowance in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received income tax relief on bereavement payments in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received income tax relief on 15p luncheon vouchers in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Mel Stride: The table below shows estimates for the number of people receiving income tax or National Insurance Contributions relief for the severe disablement allowance only. Estimates of the number of people who received tax/NIC relief (Millions) (1) 2015-162016-172017-18Severe Disablement Allowance0.2..(2).. (2)The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand and presented in millions.‘..’ Denotes figures that are non-zero but less than one hundred thousand. The estimates provided are based on the 2014-15 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI), projected to 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2017 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. Estimates of the relief from child dependency additions, allowances to rehabilitees, pensions and annuities relief to holders of the Victoria Cross and other gallantry awards, children’s allowance to Forces’ widows is negligible. Estimates of the number of people who received these allowances/reliefs and relief on bereavement payments cannot be provided as there are fewer than 0.1m individuals estimated to benefit from these allowances in each year. Tax relief on 15p luncheon vouchers ceased in 2013.

Minimum Wage: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of employers in Wales who paid national minimum wage arrears in each of the last seven years.

Mel Stride: The government is clear that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW) should receive it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review all complaints that are referred to them. HMRC does not record statistics on complaints or investigations by reference to countries of the United Kingdom, Government regions, constituencies or counties. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) undertook a more detailed analysis of NMW enforcement by workplace regions over the 2015/16 and 2016/17 financial years for the government evidence to the Low Pay Commission (LPC). Information on NMW enforcement by workplace regions for earlier years is not readily available. The data included in the LPC regional analysis is limited to the arrears identified in HMRC investigations. Furthermore, the workplace regions in the analysis relate to the employer’s registered trading address, and not necessarily where the NMW arrears occurred or where the affected workers were based. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561779/beis-16-37-national-minimum-wage-government-evidence-for-lpc-autumn-2016-report.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630197/nmw-nlw-lpc-evidence-compliance-enforcement-2017.pdf

Revenue and Customs: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the HMRC offices at the Waterfront in Dudley are owned or leased by his Department; and what assessment has been made of the costs to the public purse of closing those office.

Mel Stride: HMRC had two buildings in Waterfront Business Park. HMRC lease the office at Unit 7 Waterfront Business Park, Brierley Hill, Dudley. Bridge House, Waterfront East was vacated in February 2017, and the staff moved into Unit 7 Waterfront Business Park. Moving to regional centres will save more than £300 million up to 2025. The Programme will deliver annual cash savings of £74 million in 2025-26, rising to around £90 million by 2028, while improving customer service and modernising how HMRC work. It also avoids costs of £75m per annum from 2021, when the current PFI contract with Mapeley (the STEPS contract) comes to an end.

Revenue and Customs: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assistance the Government plans to provide to staff made redundant by HMRC at the Waterfront offices in Dudley in terms of advice, financial support, retraining and job search to help them obtain alternative employment in the event of the proposed closure of that office.

Ian Austin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will establish a task force comprised of his Department, the Department for Work and Pensions, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, advice agencies and training organisations to support staff who lose their job in the event of the proposed closure of the HMRC Waterfront offices in Dudley.

Mel Stride: HMRC intends to retain the skills, knowledge and experience of everyone who wishes to continue their career with HMRC and if necessary re-skill them to take on a new role, new work and/or move to a new office.

Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges

Gill Furniss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of LINK's decision on interchange fees on the ability of UK consumers to freely access cash.

Gill Furniss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has made to LINK on its decision to change the interchange fee mechanisms paid by banks to ATM operators.

John Glen: The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with the regulators and industry, including LINK, to ensure that it is maintained. The Government established the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users. As part of this, the PSR is monitoring developments within ATM provision. The PSR recently commissioned work to understand the impact on the provision of free-to-use ATMs that a reduction in interchange fees may have. They have also set out three requirements of LINK: that LINK must maintain the current geographical spread of ATMs; that any changes made to interchange fees must be incremental to allow LINK to monitor the impact and take action if the impact is not as expected; and for a greater focus on LINK’s financial inclusion programme, to continue to fill gaps in the network. The PSR has committed to using its powers to act should LINK behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives. The PSR has recently published a summary of their work to date, which can be found at https://www.psr.org.uk/psr-focus/the-UK-ATM-network. Following the publication of these three criteria, LINK, the scheme behind the UK’s ATM network, committed to maintaining an extensive network of free-to-use cash machines, and to ensuring that the present geographical spread of ATMs is maintained. To do this, LINK will bolster its Financial Inclusion Programme, which ensures the provision of ATMs in certain areas where demand would not otherwise make one viable. LINK will also protect all free-to-use ATMs which are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free-to-use ATM, and ensure that any community that loses ATM access because of a branch closure has a free ATM provided. Furthermore, LINK will do an annual review the impact of the interchange fee reduction as it is phased in over the next four years. In addition, LINK will set up publicly available monitoring on its website of every area of the country showing free ATM availability, and highlight any areas where free ATM availability is lost.

Money Laundering: Prosecutions

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have been prosecuted by HMRC under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 in the last year.

Mel Stride: HMRC has not prosecuted any companies under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 in the last eight months since its enactment. HMRC successfully prosecuted one individual under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 in 2016/17 and one individual in 2017/18 to date.

Money Laundering: Prosecutions

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have been prosecuted under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 by the Financial Conduct Authority in the past 12 months.

John Glen: This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Credit Unions

Gareth Thomas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of credit union legislation; and if he will make a statement.

John Glen: Government engages closely with representatives of the credit union sector to understand how credit unions may best be supported, including ongoing consideration of their legislative framework. For example, in 2014 Government conducted a Call for Evidence (‘British Credit Unions at 50’) on credit unions. Several respondents asked for changes to the legislation governing credit unions, and in its response, Government committed to actively consider legislative changes in the next Parliament. At Autumn Budget 2017, Government committed to raising the geographical common bond limit for credit unions from 2 to 3 million. This change will come into effect from April 2018. All changes to credit union legislation must be considered alongside the need to maintain an appropriate regulatory regime for credit unions. A looser legislative framework would likely require increased regulation which might be inappropriate for small, community based institutions.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Alex Sobel: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to stop HMRC promoting an 0843 premium rate customer service number on its website instead of the local rate 0300 number.

Mel Stride: HMRC’s ‘Contact Us pages on the .Gov.UK website do not promote 0843 numbers. All HMRC customer-facing telephone numbers on the Gov.UK pages start with 03.

Revenue and Customs: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about office space at the Waterfront in Dudley.

Ian Austin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the transfer of staff employed by HMRC at the Waterfront offices in Dudley.

Mel Stride: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.

Personal Pensions: Tax Allowances

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how much would be saved on an annual basis if tax relief on personal pension contributions was capped at the basic rate, based on the total amount of personal pension contributions in 2016-17.

Mel Stride: An estimate of the cost of limiting all personal pension contribution tax relief at the basic rate is not available. Information on the cost of pension tax relief is published in the HM Revenue and Custom (HMRC) National Statistics table ‘Registered pension schemes: cost of tax relief’, available on GOV.UK, including estimates for 2016-17. The full publication ‘Personal pensions: contribution and tax relief’ statistics, which includes all of the above tables can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-pensions-statistics

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Transport of 27 February 2018, Official Report, column 794, what methodology is used to allocate revenue raised from vehicle excise duty to (a) road construction projects and (b) roads maintenance; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: Future roads investment in England will be underpinned by a new Roads Fund paid for directly from the revenues of Vehicle Excise Duty from 2020-21. The split between operations, renewals and maintenance on the strategic road network will be decided as part of Roads Investment Strategy 2. The Government is currently consulting on the scope of and process for investment decisions on the Major Road Network. The Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive will receive Barnett consquentials on this funding in the usual way.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer on 8 January 2018 to Question 120804, what recent assessment he has made of the annual cost to the Exchequer of providing intermediary relief to those claiming it under existing Stamp Duty Reserve Tax rules.

Mel Stride: Intermediary relief was introduced in 1997 to safeguard liquidity and ensure market making in the London equity market is not subject to unsustainably high effective tax rates. HMRC cannot provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Exchequer of providing intermediary relief to those claiming it under existing Stamp Duty Reserve Tax rules. Although information on the usage of this relief is reported to HMRC, the relevant data is not held in a centralised form, and the cost of compiling it for statistical purposes is disproportionate. More information on reliefs where costs are unavailable can be found in the “Tax Reliefs in Force in 2016-17 or 2017-18: Estimates of cost unavailable” publication below: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/675231/Dec_17_allow_rels_estimates_unavailable_Final.pdf Like with other areas of the tax system, the Government continually monitors intermediary relief to ensure that it is appropriately targeted and effective in delivering it’s policy objective.

Financial Markets

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of high frequency trading strategies on the resilience of UK financial markets.

John Glen: The Government Office for Science, sponsored by HM Treasury, published its Foresight Project report in October 2012, analysing the role, development, and impact of computer-based trading – including high frequency trading – in financial markets.[1] The report highlighted the benefits of computer-based trading for the operation of markets, in particular relating to liquidity, transaction costs, and the efficiency of market prices, while also considering the implications for financial stability. [1] Government Office for Science, Future of computer trading in financial markets (October 2012) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-computer-trading-in-financial-markets-an-international-perspective

Children: Day Care

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2018 to Question 126730, what the total cost to the Exchequer is of the tax-free childcare scheme not including the cost of 30 hours free childcare.

Elizabeth Truss: The Childcare Service is an integrated digital service through which parents can apply for Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare in a single application. As the costs of one application can be associated with both policies, there is not a clear distinction between the operating costs of each. The HMRC contribution to the operating costs of the childcare service are estimated to be around £30million in 2018/2019 and £42million in 2019/2020. These may be revised in light of actual workloads.

Help to Buy Scheme: Individual Savings Accounts

John Woodcock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what are the eligibility criteria is for a person to qualify for a bonus with a Help to Buy ISA.

John Glen: In addition to observing the usual ISA regulations, for an individual to qualify for a Help to Buy: ISA they must be 16 or over, have a valid National Insurance number, be a UK resident, and be a first-time buyer. Under this scheme being a first-time buyer means they must not have owned a property anywhere in the world.An individual will then qualify for a government bonus when they come to buy a property if it is:a) in the UK;b) costs less than £250k (or £450k in London);c) will be their only home;d) is where they intend to live; ande) will be purchased with a mortgage.

Cabinet Office

Zero Hours Contracts: Coventry South

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people who live in Coventry South constituency are employed on zero-hour contracts.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response 
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Personal Income

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the year-on-year changes to average weekly incomes in each constituency in each of the last 5 years.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response 
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Temporary Employment

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were employed on (a) short-term contracts and (b) in temporary positions in all sectors of the economy in each of the last three months.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Response 
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Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many meetings have taken place between Government Ministers and their counterparts in other European Economic Area countries since the beginning of the process for the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: Ministers and senior officials from the Department for Exiting the European Union continue to have regular engagement with the EU Member States, and each of the European Free Trade Association States.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Fair Trade Initiative

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of his Department's spend on day-to-day goods has comprised fair trade products since it was established.

Greg Hands: Department for International Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Overseas Trade

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the change in the volume of UK trade with non-EU countries in each year between 2013 and 2017.

Graham Stuart: Estimates of the change in the volume of UK trade with non-EU countries in each year between 2013 and 2017 are available from the Office for National Statistics at:https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/adhocs/008132tradewitheuandnoneuinchainedvolumemeasuresquarter1jantomar1998toquarter4octtodec2017

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sexual Harassment

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on up-skirting photographs appearing in the media.

Margot James: Up-skirting is a violation of privacy and causes considerable distress for victims. There are laws on privacy that publishers and broadcasters must abide by. Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.

Mobile Phones: Dumfries and Galloway

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the extent and quality of mobile phone coverage in Dumfries and Galloway.

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve mobile phone coverage in Dumfries and Galloway.

Margot James: According to Ofcom's Connected Nations 2017 report (published on 15 December 2017), indoor premises voice coverage by at least one Mobile Network Operator (MNO) was 97% (with 63% from all four MNOs) in Dumfries and Galloway, while indoor premises data coverage was 96% (51% from all four). However, the Government recognises that there is still more to do to improve coverage. That is why we reformed the Electronic Communications Code in 2017, to make it cheaper to install digital infrastructure and this should help improve coverage in the UK, including Scotland. We also welcome the Scottish Government's planning reforms introduced in 2017 that follow our 2016 reforms in England to support infrastructure rollout. We are committed to having good quality coverage where people live, work and travel and welcome that Ofcom is considering new licence obligations for rural coverage as part of the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction.

Digital Broadcasting: Scotland

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of availability of DAB radio in rural parts of Scotland.

Margot James: DCMS does not collect this type of information. The independent communications regulator Ofcom publishes an annual review of the digital radio market, which includes data on the availability of DAB radio services by Nation. The last report was published in November 2017. DAB coverage figures for Scotland are set out in the table below.  UK Wide BBCUK wide commercial radioDigital OneSound DigitalScotland Homes95.3%81.7%65.4%Scotland Major roads69.1%45.5%32.5%

Digital Broadcasting: Scotland

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the availability of DAB radio in (a) Scotland and (b) Dumfries and Galloway.

Margot James: We are working with the radio industry to improve digital radio coverage for listeners. DCMS has provided around £7.3m capital funding - in conjunction with on-going financial support from the BBC and commercial radio - to support the long term expansion of the local digital radio (DAB) network across the UK. In December 2014 a commitment was made to a programme of work including a total of 182 new local DAB transmitters built across Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, and technical improvements at a further 49 existing local DAB transmitter sites. According to Ofcom the programme to upgrade the local DAB network in Scotland is predicted to increase the coverage of local digital radio services from 65% to around 86% of Scottish homes, up by over 20%.   Separately, under phase 4 of its expansion, the BBC has rolled out its national DAB network to a further 163 transmitter sites across the UK. This programme of work has included new DAB transmitters at 4 sites in Dumfries and Galloway serving: Kirkconnel, Langholm, Moffat, Sanquhar and Thornhill. The BBC’s phase 4 expansion programme has seen an increase in the coverage of its national DAB network in Scotland from 91% to 95% of homes.

Channel Four Television: Location

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to announce his decision on whether to relocate Channel 4.

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the process will be for the selection of an alternative location in the event that Channel 4 leaves its current location; and if he will he make a statement.

Margot James: We have made it clear that Channel 4 must have a major presence outside London. As a publicly owned broadcaster, it is essential that it reflects and provides for the country as a whole. The government is working with Channel 4 on how best it can increase its regional impact, and we will set out next steps in due course.

BBC: Staff

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with the BBC on the accuracy of its tax advice to employees establishing personal service companies and the implications of such companies on an employee's tax liability.

Margot James: Ministers have regular discussions with the BBC on a range of topics. The BBC is operationally independent of government.

Broadband

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date he expects Wave 3 of the Local Full Fibre Network Challenge Fund to open for applications.

Margot James: Wave 2 of the Challenge Fund closed to applications on 26th January 2018. We expect to notify applicants about the successful applications in March 2018 and we anticipate that the next wave of the Challenge Fund will open to applications in the summer of 2018.

Telecommunications: Complaints

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the (a) detail and (b) quality of Ofcom’s quarterly telecoms complaints data on the ability of consumers to make informed decisions.

Margot James: Ofcom publishes quarterly data on the volume of consumer complaints that it has received against the major providers of telecoms and pay TV services. This, together with Ofcom’s new Comparing Service Quality report, allows consumers to compare companies performance against a variety of different metrics, enabling them to make informed decisions. In addition, in the Digital Economy Act 2017, the government strengthened Ofcom’s powers to require telecoms companies to provide them with information, including on complaints.

Telecommunications: Complaints

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including data from Alternative Dispute Resolution schemes in Ofcom’s quarterly telecoms complaints data to enable consumers to make better informed decisions.

Margot James: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes in the telecoms sector already publish quarterly data about complaints they receive from each communications provider. Ombudsman Services complaints data can be viewed at : https://www.ombudsman-services.org/for-consumers/complaints-data/communications-complaints-data-2017. Communications & Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) complaint data can be viewed at : https://www.cedr.com/cisas/quarterly-case-data/. In addition, Ofcom’s 2017 Comparing Service Quality publication includes a section about ADR complaints (page 61) that can be viewed at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/100605/comparing-service-quality-report.pdf. This information enables consumers to make better informed decisions.

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of applying the new technology developed to detect jihadi content online to the tackling of republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This Government’s first priority is to keep people safe and secure right across the United Kingdom. In relation to the tools needed to tackle the threat from Northern Ireland related terrorism, we will continue to work closely with security partners and across Government in order to implement lessons learnt to successfully tackle the threat.​

Northern Ireland Assembly

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her policy is on proposals to reduce the pay of Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly while that Assembly is not sitting; and what assessment she has made of the potential effect of such a reduction on Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly's (a) staff and (b) wider office costs.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland asked Trevor Reaney to provide advice on pay and allowances for Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. This advice was published on the Northern Ireland Office website on 20 December and includes an assessment of, and recommendations on, staff and office costs. As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland told the House on 20 February, she is considering that advice carefully and will update Parliament when a decision has been made.

Terrorism

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which (a) stakeholders and (b) representatives of victims and survivors of terrorism she has met since taking office.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Since taking office, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland. I recently attended the service to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the La Mon bomb and was very moved to hear from the victims and survivors of that terrible atrocity. The former ministerial team and officials from my department have extensively engaged with stakeholders and representatives of victims and survivors in preparation for the forthcoming legacy consultation. Further details of ministerial engagements can be found in the Department’s transparency returns.

Northern Ireland Office: Business Interests

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which members of her Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and senior civil servants.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Northern Ireland Office’s Audit and Risk Committee, which is chaired by the department’s lead non-executive board member, is responsible for monitoring the application of the Business Appointment Rules for senior civil servants SCS2 and SCS1. The application of the rules for former Ministers and the most senior levels of the civil service is a matter for the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

Marriage: Northern Ireland

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her policy is on the recognition in Northern Ireland of same sex marriages performed in the UK.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Marriage remains a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The UK Government will continue to do all it can to support delivery of an effective, stable, power-sharing devolved Government, so that decisions on issues such as same sex marriage are taken by locally accountable politicians.